


Anticipation

by cupcakesintheimpala



Series: Cambion Series [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-01-16 12:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 35
Words: 46,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1347766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupcakesintheimpala/pseuds/cupcakesintheimpala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 5 AU. Sam and Dean thought Kae was just another hunter with a shitty past that had roped them into finding a couple of wraiths that had killed members of her family. They didn't anticipate getting roped into a war over a cambion...and Dean sure as hell didn't anticipate falling for something he'd been trained to hunt down and kill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I've been reworking the story past the prologue (hence why it remains the only part of the story that has been unchanged in this re post), and I feel a lot better about the direction it's going in now. I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> **will follow season 5 from episode 6, I Believe the Children Are Our Future through episode 22, Swan Song**

Prologue:

**Atlanta, Georgia  
October, 2007**

"I don't know about this."

"What the fuck is there to not know? We're tracking a wraith, Sammy."

"Actually _you're_ helping me track down a couple of _wraiths_ so I can kill them." Dean looked from his brother to the woman who was seated on one of the beds of their motel room, sharpening the silver knife in her hands.Long brown hair marred by red streaks and blonde highlights framed a pale, round face that had bright green eyes and thin lips. She wore a ratty sky blue tee shirt that showed off a slim waist, dark wash jeans and beat up white tennis shoes. 

"And we're supposed to just trust you? What's with the possessive nature, Princess?"

Her hand froze and gripped the handle of the knife so tightly that Sam was actually afraid she'd break it. When she actually did, and swore out loud, Dean went for his gun and pointed it at her.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he demanded.

The woman tossed the broken knife aside and stood, arms folded.

"First off, Dean, I told you my name at the bar. It's Kaelyn, or Kae -- and if you ever call me Princess again, I'll slit your fucking throat."

Dean didn't lower his gun. "Answer the question."

Sam intervened quickly as Kae looked like she might jump Dean and beat the shit out of him at any given moment.

"Look." he said, "Kae...we need more to go on than the fact that you know there's a wraith in town killing people. We just saw you break that knife handle with your bare hand...so just set things straight. We just need to know what we're dealing with."

Kae frowned.

"For starters, what the hell are you?" Dean asked abruptly.

Kae's eyes narrowed, but instead of answering him, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door of the room.

"Forget it. I'll kill the damn things myself. Screw you both."

She left the room without looking back.

Sam glanced at Dean. "She said wraiths."

Dean groaned and quickly grabbed the keys to the Impala. "If we leave now we can still tail her."

"Okay."

\---

Kae quickly pulled her hair back in a messy bun and grabbed another knife out of the duffel in her back seat. She'd driven all the way out to the wraith's -- well, Taylor Barnes's house.

The guy had a wife and three kids all grown up and on their own. He was CEO of the Atlanta branch of SucroCorp. Kae wasn't sure of what exactly the company did. It was some kind of healthy eating type of company.

That didn't really matter.

What did matter was that five years ago, he and his wife had killed her half-brother Aiden and her half-sister Layla.

It had taken her this long to discover who they really were. That was why she had roped the Winchester brothers into helping her kill them. If she did it herself, she was likely to end up like Aiden and Layla and the two monsters would escape again. That was the most likely outcome of what would happen if she went in now. The Winchesters had almost discovered what she really was...and she knew Dean would shoot her first and ask questions later. That was how she'd heard he operated.

Sam was a different story -- maybe he'd believe her, maybe he wouldn't, and he'd kill her. There was no way to know to be honest. That was why she ran.

Someone knocked loudly on the driver's door window of her car, pulling her out of her thoughts. When she turned, she saw Dean and Sam standing outside her car.

_Son of a bitch._

\---  
"I'm gonna kill you!"

"Kae come on!" Sam tried to grab her as she stepped over Taylor's body, gun pointed at Dean's chest. "It was an accident!"

"He let the bitch escape!" she screamed, lunging forward, only for Sam to wrap his arms around her waist in order to restrain her.

The hunt had gone fine...Kae had slipped into the house and caught the Barnes' unawares. She'd caught Taylor and killed him easily. His wife had been more of a challenge -- it wasn't long before Kae had found herself pinned to the ground with her skull about to be cracked open.

Dean and Sam had broken in, and Dean had gone for the kill. Unfortunately this had only provided long enough distraction for the wraith to escape. Kae was beyond pissed off.

"You fucking asshole, this was my kill!" she screamed. "I told you to wait and I'd holler if I needed you!"

"Hey let's get something straight, _Princess_ , I don't take orders from you," Dean snarled back. "I don't know you, and I don't trust you. So --"

Kae wrestled free of Sam's grip and grabbed her own gun from where it lay on the floor. Her hands shook slightly as she lifted it and pointed it at the elder Winchester brother.

"You don't give me orders either, Dean," she spit out. "If I ever see you again, I'll kill you."

And then she vanished right before their eyes.

Dean stared at the spot she'd been standing in moments before, at a loss for words.

One thing was for sure; he hoped he never saw Kae again.


	2. Chapter 1

Part 1:  
 **Two Years Later  
Alliance, Nebraska**

"Bobby I checked the morgue. There's nothing -- the vic scratched her own brains out. Literally." Kae adjusted her hold on her cell as she ripped the fake press badge from her blouse and reached into her purse for her keys. "You sure Dee was right?"

"I told you exactly what she told me, Kae." Bobby sighed. "Look she ain't what she used to be. From what I hear, she lost it shortly after your step --"

"You know not to use that word with me." Kae pulled her car keys from her purse and unlocked her car. "Danny was the only father I ever knew."

"I know."

"You have any leads on that?"

"Nope. 'S far as I can tell, all silent."

"Son of a bitch."

"Look, one thing at a time, alright?" She heard Bobby go silent for a moment, and then, "Work this case, see if something turns up on the wraith. If not, kill whatever evil bastard _is_ there."

She sighed.

"Bobby, not all supernatural things are evil. I would know."

"Yeah, you would. Call if you need anything."

"Yeah...sure. Thanks."

She ended the call and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.

\---

_"You really wanna do this to her?"_

_"I'm not doing this to her, Dad -- it's for Aiden -- for Layla --"_

_"All you're gonna do is get yourself killed."_

_Kae glared at Danny and turned back to the suitcase she'd been trying to pack._

_"I'm a good hunter. Ask Gordon."_

_"That son of a bitch almost got you killed over a vampire," Danny retorted. "He's insane."_

_"He used me as bait -- with my permission. If I recall, I severed that thing's head in record time."_

_"You almost got turned." he pointed out. "Kae. Look, I -- Just hold off okay? Max isn't in a good place right now. Aiden and Layla are dead -- you need to think about this."_

_"I saw their bodies. I know what killed them. I can do this."_

_Danny let out a long sigh. "I know...but you need to put this aside. For your mom, okay?"_

_She bit her lip, looked from the suitcase to the photo of her as a child with her mother that she kept near her bed._

_"Fine."_

\---

Kae sighed and slumped back in her chair before taking a sip of her mixed drink -- most of her friends would make fun of her for it, but she couldn't stand beer, and only drank wine on special occasions.

"So what's your story?"

_Fuck._ Another random asshole intent on a round between the sheets had walked up to her table.

"That'd be mine to know and yours to never find out." she said coolly. "I think your girl's waitin' on you." she nodded toward the bar where a girl dressed up in a skimpy pink dress was watching them resentfully.  
The man glanced back at his girlfriend, who turned away from them to flirt with the trucker sitting next to her. Then he looked back at Kae, who folded her arms over her chest.

"Get. lost." she ordered. She didn't want to order him, knowing the outcome -- but he wasn't really leaving her another option.

She didn't breathe until he'd turned around and walked out of the bar. It almost made her laugh; she should've been a little more specific, sure -- but it had worked, thank God.

It really _did_ make her laugh when the girl went running after him, screaming her head off at him to stop.

"Having fun?"

She turned to see a woman with dark red hair staring at her.

"Who's asking?" Kae's smile died and and her laughter faded. Something was off about this woman. When she saw the silver blade slip from the sleeve of the woman's navy coat, her eyes widened. The woman nodded.

"Let's take this outside." she said calmly.

It took a moment, but then Kae found her voice.

"Yeah. Sure."

\---

"You should know better than to use your powers out in the open, Kaelyn."

Kae scoffed, eyes narrowed and leaned against the car parked behind her. The parking lot of the bar was eerily silent, no one in sight.

"You don't get to lecture me -- and not that it's any of your business, but I don't use them unless I have another option. I didn't see one that led to a good outcome so I did what I had to." she responded. "Who're you anyway?"

"Anna." the woman said. "But we're not here to talk about me."

"No, of course not. You're here to kill me, aren't you?" No response. "Thought so. Zachariah send you?" Anna nodded. "Okay, so you're an angel too. I'll tell you the same thing I told him: I'm not interested in Lucifer or whatever it is he wants with me. I just want to kill the thing that killed my brother and sister, and live my life."

"I'm sorry, but what you want is of no matter to me, or my superiors." she was silent for a moment. "Are you going to fight me?"

Kae rolled her eyes. "Would you expect anything less?"

"There will be no fighting between the two of you."

Kae frowned and Anna closed her eyes for a moment. A man with dark hair, wearing a tan trench coat over a dark suit complete with a purple tie and white dress shirt had materialized behind Anna.

"Castiel, you're not needed here." Anna said through gritted teeth.

"And you will not harm her." Castiel's eyes flicked to Kae. "I require her assistance."

"Who says I'm going to help you with anything?" Kae protested.

He frowned. "Sam and Dean Winchester, of course."

Kae froze.

_Winchester? Oh shit. Shitshitshitshitshit._ They were here? If she saw Dean again, she wasn't so sure she could hold back; hearing about him and his brother just made her so angry...but that wasn't the worst of it. If they were sending their lackey or whoever this idiot was to ask for her help, they could possibly have figured her out.

Regardless of whether or not that was true, she made a mental note to make a quick exit after taking both of these idiots out.

Immediately, an invisible force gripped her insides, suffocating her. Her knees slammed into the concrete and she cried out at the resulting pain that shot through her body.

"Anna no!"

There was a bright flash of light, and Kae lost consciousness.

\---

When Kae awoke later, she found herself sprawled across the tacky gray comforter of a bed. She sat up slowly, and tried to clear her head.

"Finally," a familiar voice said, "I was beginning to think she'd sleep forever."

_Gun...Need my gun...Winchester...fuck._ It wasn't in the back of her jeans like it normally was. Then when she looked around, her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she saw it -- in Dean Winchester's hand.

He grinned.

"Hey, Princess."


	3. Part 2

Part 2:

Kae blinked slowly. She'd never felt this weak before -- it was strange; she couldn't even teleport away.

She tried to focus on her weapon.

"Give me my gun." she said hoarsely.

He simply smirked and held it out of her reach. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you would want your death to be quick and painless." she said simply. "I can snap your neck if you like...strangle you with my bare hands. Trust me...can make it ten times worse."

He snorted. "Highly doubt that, darlin'."

She frowned, not understanding what that meant -- until she looked up at the ceiling; the fuckers had spraypainted a Devil's Trap there. Of course, she could leave it, but the damn thing had weakened her considerably.

She looked back at Sam and Dean...and then noticed the man from earlier -- Castiel -- standing in a corner of the motel room.

"What do you guys want with me?" she asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I know what you are," Castiel answered. "and so do they." he jerked his head at the Winchesters. "We require your assistance with a case."

Kae's eyes shifted from him to Sam. "The one with the vic who scratched her brains out?"

He nodded.

"Yeah."

"I don't understand why --"

"We know what you are." Dean interrupted tersely. "He told us." He nodded at Castiel. "Apparently you've been on Zachariah's radar for over a year. Why is that?"

"None of your fucking business." she retorted. "So you know I'm a cambion -- big deal. Don't see how that'll help you solve this case."

"We discovered the source of the disturbances in town," Castiel told her. "It's a nine year old boy by the name of Jesse Turner. He is a cambion like you."

Kae's eyes widened at that. "I -- what?"

"I said --"

"Cas no offense, but we'll take it from here." Sam said quickly. He looked at Kae uncertainly. "Look, two people are dead, Kaelyn --"

"What?"

Sam sighed. "The other vic was accidentally electrocuted by a joybuzzer."

Kae bit her lip and tried to process what they were telling her -- if that was true, it seemed to her that Jesse seemed like he had no control over his powers -- she wasn't even sure he knew what he really was.

"Reality warping." she muttered finally, and then looked at the floor. "Chances are this kid doesn't even know what he is. I did the same thing without knowing when I was his age."

"How'd you stop?" asked Dean.

She shrugged. "Mom told me what I was -- what happened to her. We moved away, and since I couldn't get rid of them, just learned to control 'em."

"Mmm."

"I'm not going to kill him."

Cas's head jerked up at that. "What?"

Kae glared at him. "You heard me, Castiel. I'm not the tool of angels for their dirty work. Make sure you tell Zach and Anna that the next time you see them." She tried to shove past them to leave the motel room, but an invisible force shoved her back onto the bed. "Do you really want to challenge me?"

"You'll lose," he replied. "Angels are stronger than you."

"Cas c'mon -- let her up. She wants to leave it's no skin off of our nose." Sam reasoned. He turned to Dean. "We can find some other way to stop Jesse."

"There is no other solution!" Cas snapped.

"You're not killing him." Kae snapped back.

"He could destroy Heaven with just a thought if he wanted to!"

"So could I!" Kae shouted, "the difference is, I know it's wrong! I know that what I am is an abomination! It's why I try to balance both sides!" She took a deep breath and glared at Cas. "It's not my fault you bastards are so fucking mechanical that you can't understand -- even things like me -- like Jesse if I can convince him -- we're not all hell bent on destroying you!" she jerked her head over to look at Sam. "Give me the address."

"Sam --" Dean started, but Kae interrupted him.

"You two wanted my help, so here -- I'm helping. Sam give me the address now."

Sam looked at Dean, then Cas, then at Kae. Then he let out a long sigh and grabbed one of the generic motel notepads laying on the table. He scribbled down the address quickly and handed it to Kae.

When she looked around again, Cas was gone.

"Damn it!" she screamed.

"Car." Dean said abruptly. "Let's go."

\---

_"We are never going shopping again. I spent twice my budget!"_

_Kae snorted as she grabbed their bags out of the back seat of her car. "That could've been avoided if you hadn't decided to spend two hours over in the shoe department at Macy's, Mom."_

_On the other side of the car, Max laughed as she tried to help her daughter pick up the other bags. It was then she saw a black duffel bag. Kae had told her that it was her gym bag._

_"Honey, shouldn't you wash your gym clothes? It's been in here for a month."_

_"Mom, it's fine. It has my clean clothes for the next time I go." Kae eyed the bag nervously; in reality it had everything she had on those wraiths that had killed Layla and Aiden two years ago. It had her silver knives, and her gun. "Mom --" she protested when Max opened the bag and pulled out one of the knives._

_"Kaelyn Rose Thomas what the hell is this?!"_

_Kae groaned._

_"What does it look like, Mom?"_

_"Don't you get sarcastic with me, Kae," Max spit out as she slammed the car door on her side shut. "You're still looking into what killed Aiden and Layla aren't you?!" Kae sighed, shut the car doors on her side of the car and locked it before heading for the house."Don't walk away from me!"_

_"Fine!" Kae stopped halfway to the front door and rounded on her mother. "I know what killed them! I'm ready to hunt the sons of bitches down and destroy them!"_

_Max folded her arms over her chest. "This isn't your fight, Kaelyn!"_

_"Nope it wasn't, but you know what? I'm making it my fight! Aid and Lay -- they deserve some kind of justice! The cops still think it was a break in!"_

_"It was!"_

_Kae's eyes narrowed. "Can you live with telling yourself that, Mom? Can you live with denying anything supernatural exists?"_

_"I'm not denying anything! The things that killed Aiden and Layla -- they could kill you too, Kae." Max's voice turned soft, and like she might start crying. "I can't lose you too, honey. It would kill me."_

_Kae took a deep breath. "Mom, whether you like it or not, I will leave home eventually and become a hunter. I will find the wraiths that killed my brother and sister. You can't stop me."_

_She turned and went to unlock the front door before storming off into the house._

\---

Kae felt like she couldn't breathe as she, Sam and Dean rushed up the front steps of the Turner house. As Sam fumbled for his lock pick kit, and Dean prepared to kick the door in, she lost patience.

"See you two inside." she snapped, and vanished on the spot. She reappeared in the living room of the house.

"W-Who are you?" a frightened voice asked.

She turned slowly until she saw the boy standing in the corner of the room, between a lamp and a desk.

_Jesse._

"I'm not going to hurt you." she said softly, pity forming in her stomach as she noted his frightened expression. "I promise." she hesitated and took a few steps forward, holding her hand out to him. "Can we talk? It's really important."

At that moment, the front door opened with a loud bang and within seconds, they were joined by Sam and Dean.

"We're looking for a guy." she said quickly before Dean could open his mouth. "He wears a trench coat --"

Jesse pointed at the ground with a shaky finger. Dean, Sam and Kae followed his gaze and Kae gasped.

It was Cas alright -- as an action figure.

_Fuck._

\---

"Is he your friend?"

Kae could've laughed at the question, but given the seriousness of the situation she tried to keep it at bay.

"I don't get along well with angels, Jesse." she replied.

He looked at her with interest. "He's an angel?"

She nodded and sat down next to him. "Yeah."

Jesse looked back at the action figure, now resting on the fireplace mantle where Dean had placed it.

"I did that." he said slowly. "How did I do that?"

Kae looked over at Sam and Dean, and when Sam nodded, she took a deep breath and turned to Jesse.

"I can do the same thing," she said softly. "Jesse --"

Suddenly an invisible force threw her up, right into the ceiling.

"Kae!" yelled Sam, but before he or Dean could do anything, she fell back to the floor in a crumpled heap and didn't move. Another force slammed Dean into the wall and pinned him there. The same thing happened to Sam.

A blonde woman walked into the room, her eyes black.

"Hi Jesse," she said sweetly before glancing at Kae. "Hmm. So you have a sister. Forgot about that. Well when she comes 'round we'll see about getting her to join up with us, huh?" her eyes flicked back to Dean and Sam.

"She means demons, Jesse!" Dean groaned. The woman turned and lifted her hand, forming it into a fist and Dean cried out in pain.

"S-Stop it."

The demon looked over at Kae, who was getting slowly to her feet.

"Leave them alone," she said fiercely. "and get the fuck out of here."

"Is that any way to talk to your father?" the demon asked casually.

Kae's eyes flashed and suddenly the woman was being slammed into the wall opposite Sam and Dean, who both promptly fell to the ground as the demon's grip broke. Kae stared at the woman in surprise. Apparently the Devil's Trap hadn't weakened her enough. She turned her attention to Jesse.

"Listen to me, Jesse. That thing is not your father, okay? It's not mine. What it is, is a liar. And maybe these two lied to you too," she jerked her head at Sam and Dean. "I'm assuming they told you they were FBI agents?" He nodded. "Thought so. FBI Agents, press reporters, health inspectors -- they're all covers people like them -- like me -- use. We're hunters. We kill evil things like that thing that's inside her."

She took a deep breath and continued. "Whatever promises it makes you, whatever stories she tells won't mean a damn thing."

"But what am I?" he asked desperately. "What does it want?!"

She took a deep breath. "You're part demon...like me. Technical term is 'cambion'. And yes, you're powerful, I'm sure that bastard wouldn't hesitate to tell you that; even more powerful than me. What they want, what demons like that want, is for you to get angry. They want you to destroy, understand? "

"But I don't want to!" he cried angrily.

"Good." This time Sam spoke, and Kae, Dean and Jesse looked at him. "Then you can make the right choice, okay?"

"Jesse --" The demon gasped, "Jesse she lied -- she's lying --"

Jesse looked over at her coldly. "Get out of her."

There was a loud roaring noise as a funnel of black smoke erupted from the woman's mouth and flew up the fireplace. Kae released control and the woman fell to the floor unconscious. She looked over at Sam.

"Who is she?" she asked.

Sam sighed.

"Jesse's biological mother, Julia."

Kae suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "I uh...I need some air."

She bolted for the front door.

\---

It seemed like it took ages for the Winchesters, plus a fully regrown Cas to find her outside the house, throwing up in the grass.

"Kae?" Sam said quietly, placing a hand on her back. "Kae, it's Sam Winchester."

"I know." Kae breathed heavily, trying to ignore the stench of vomit on the lawn as she struggled to her feet, batting Sam's hand away. "Jesse?"

Dean sighed. "Gone. We thought he was gonna come with us...but he vanished. Found a note in his room to his parents telling them he had to leave."

"Oh." Kae exhaled and stood upright. She tried to keep calm. "No use tracking him then...he can hide himself pretty damn well if he wants to."

Cas nodded at that. "Which makes me question why it was so easy to find you, Kaelyn."

"It's not that obvious?" she asked tiredly. "Cas, I don't use my powers unless I need to. I don't think it's exactly a secret that I never wanted to be part demon anyway. Look..." she glanced at Sam and Dean. "Can you two give me a lift back to my car? I need to get out of this town. Now."

"Who says you have to split?"

She stared at Sam as if he'd grown an extra head at the suggestion, and she wasn't the only one. Dean was staring at his brother like he'd lost his mind.

"You can't be serious."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Kae said flatly. "I'd rather work alone."

"But --"

"Sam. No. I'm not gettin' in the way of your shit so there's no need for you to get in the way of mine, okay?" she glanced at Dean. "So about that lift -- we cool?"

Dean nodded.

"Yeah...we're cool. Let's go."

But when they got back to the bar where Cas had stopped Anna from killing Kae, they found Kae's old Taurus looked like it had exploded.

"No." gasped Kae, nearly falling out of the Impala as she tried to jump out when it pulled into the parking lot. " _No!_ " She ended up tucking and rolling onto the pavement, got to her feet, and ran before stopping a few feet short of her burning car.

"Son of a bitch." Dean threw the car into park and he and Sam rushed to join her. "What the hell did this?"

Kae turned after a moment and looked at him. She looked infuriated.

"Demons."


	4. Part 3

Part 3:

"Woah. What do you mean, demons did this?" Dean grabbed Kae as she tried to run to the car. "Hey, come on don't -- ow!" he was cut off as she turned enough to drive her fist into his face, causing him to let go of her. She felt a little relief at seeing the busted lip she'd caused him. "Dammit!"

"Kae!" Sam grabbed her arm as she tried to run past him, and held her back. "Kae anything you had in there is long gone." he said. "We can help you out, but you need to be straight with us -- why would demons do this to your car?"

Kae yanked her arm out of his grasp. "Same reason the angels want to fucking smite me." she said bitterly. "Lucifer."

Dean stared at her incredulously. "What?!"

Kae sighed heavily. "Long story. I don't have time for that now --"

"Bull," Dean countered. "If we're helping you at all, you're gonna have to be straight with us."

The glare she gave him made his stomach twist uncomfortably. He definitely did _not_ want to get on her bad side, but there was absolutely no fucking around if she was involved with angels and demons -- not to mention Lucifer.

"Fuck you," she said coldly. "I'll get out of here on my own. Probably not best to be hanging around the Michael and Lucifer vessels anyway. Yeah...I know about that." she added when they looked at her surprised. "Good luck evading them -- Zachariah can be a real bitch."

She turned and hurried off down the street. Dean turned and headed back to the Impala, Sam on his heels -- and he didn't sound happy.

"We can't just leave her to deal with that on her own." he said. Dean groaned and turned to look at him.

"Yeah we can." Dean replied. "What?!" he cried when his brother gave him an exasperated look. "If she wants to fight those dicks on her own, who are we to stop her?!"

"And if she dies?" Sam asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Can you live with that?"

Silence. Then a loud groan as Dean climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. "Dammit. Alright, come on."

\---

Kae stared down at the beat up Chevy in disgust as she pulled out her lock pick kit. She wasn't really game for breaking windows and setting off car alarms -- not to mention possibly being arrested for grand theft.  
The sound of a car approaching made her look up and groan quietly. The Winchesters' Impala was making its way slowly down the road toward her. When it reached her, the front passenger window rolled down and Sam poked his head out.

"Okay here's the deal." he said. "If you want, you can come with us, and we'll work together. Face the apocalypse -- all those bastards who want to use us -- together. Hell, we can even track down that other wraith while we're at it." he paused. "We just want to help okay?"

Kae looked at the ground. "You don't owe me anything."

Sam shook his head. "No. You helped us with Jesse."

"So?"

"I -- You --" _Damn it._ Kae didn't know what to say...she preferred to work alone. It was just better because nobody would find out what she really was and try to kill her for it. But Sam and Dean knew what she was, and they hadn't lifted a finger to destroy her (though she suspected Dean really wanted to).

She couldn't handle Lucifer and everything else on her own, that much was clear too.

And maybe this would be a chance to make up for the wraith incident.

"Look we don't have all night, Prin --" Dean broke off at the look Sam gave him. " -- Kae. If you wanna go with us, it's now or never."

She took a deep breath.

"Alright."

\---

The first night on the road with the Winchester brothers was one that Kae really didn't remember much. She spent much of it asleep in the back seat before being woken up the next morning by Sam, telling her they'd reached the town where their next case was: Wellington, Ohio. They rented two motel rooms (thank God) at a shitty motel.

"Never thought I'd be so grateful to see a bed again in my life." she groaned, collapsing onto the mattress in her room. "No offense, but the back seat of your car isn't exactly comfortable, Dean."

Dean rolled his eyes but said nothing.

She looked over at Sam. "What's the case?"

"Local guy got his head ripped off." he answered.

"I'm sorry...what?"

"Head. ripped off." Dean snapped at her.

"Well excuse me for asking," she shot back. "but if we're working this together then I should know the same information you two do. So what's so special about a guy getting his head ripped off?"

"Cops think it was a bear attack," Sam explained.

"What makes you two think it isn't?"

"Guy was killed in his bedroom." Dean replied. "You know a bear that can climb a flight of stairs?"

"Yogi if he really wants a picnic basket."

"Cute." Dean rolled his eyes. Sam smothered a snort and Kae smirked as she got up off of the bed reluctantly.

"Okay so...I'll call you guys after I make a run. Later.." she grabbed her purse and pulled her cell phone from it as she left the room.

\---

"You're in Ohio?"

"Yeah...I'm fine, Mom. Honest." Kae smiled at the cashier and swiped her card through the reader. "I'm....uh....with the Winchesters."

"John Winchester's kids?" Max asked.

"Yeah." Once the cashier had handed her her receipt, she grabbed the bags of clothes she'd bought and headed out of the store. "You know 'em?"

"Nope, just heard of them is all...Think John might've taken a case here when you were a kid....maybe a werewolf? Sounds familiar anyway."

Kae pursed her lips. "Hmm. Hey mom I've gotta call a cab to get back to the guys -- we're working a case. Call you in a few days okay?"

"Okay. Wait -- a cab? What happened to your car?!"

"Love you, Mom, gotta go." Kae hung up and quickly called for a cab to come and get her.


	5. Part 4

Part 5:

On the way to the police station, Kae sent texts to Sam and Dean to let them know she was on her way.

"Airline lose your baggage?" she heard the driver ask as they rounded a corner.

"No." she said shortly before hitting 'send' on her phone and sending off her text to Sam.

"You uh....running away or something?"

"How about you mind your own damn business?" she shot back, eyes flashing.

The cab driver suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and turned to face her. "C'mon Kaelyn you can tell me -- we're old pals, remember?"

Kae's eyes narrowed as she took in his face and she set her phone aside.

"Gabriel."

\---

_The sound of a loud crash jolted Kae from her sleep at 4:30 in the morning. She groaned quietly and got to her feet before making her way downstairs._

_"Kae?" she heard Max call sleepily. "If you see your dad down there, tell him to wait until the daylight to fix the sink, okay?"_

_Kae frowned; Danny wasn't in bed? He usually slept like a log. "Uh...yeah. Go back to sleep Mom."_

_"M....Mkay."_

_Kae headed downstairs, a bad feeling forming in her stomach. She breathed deeply, and nearly vomitted when the stench of sulfur hit her nose._

_"Dad?" she called. "Dad, it's Kae -- c'mon....think it's time you went back to bed, huh?"_

_No answer. Kae made her way to the kitchen. "Daddy?" she called again. "C'mon....Mom's gonna have my ass if --" her breath caught in her throat as she rounded the island and came in view of the sink._

_Danny was lying on the floor in front of the sink, his throat slashed open, blood everywhere._

\---

"Well this is nice, but uh, I'll take a different cab." Kae reached for the door handle, only for it to lock by itself. She turned back to Gabriel angrily. "Open the damn door!"

Gabriel just smirked at her, and suddenly they were standing in the middle of a field.

"We need to talk, Kae." he said seriously.

Kae crossed her arms over her chest. "About?"

"Lucifer."

"Fuck you." She shot back. "I told Zachariah --"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I don't care what he wants, alright? I'm on your side here."

"I don't believe you."

"Hey not everyone in my family is a dick," he said defensively. "Had anymore nightmare visits from my brother?"

"Not recently, but thanks he'll probably be back tonight." Kae turned away from him. "Look I had a case -- I was --"

"Working it with the Winchesters," he finished. "Yeah, I know 'em...well, they know me as a Trickster. You think I go everywhere yelling to hunters that I'm the archangel Gabriel? Besides...Sam and Dean are indisposed."

Kae surged forward, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. "What did you do?!"

Gabriel grinned. "You'll see."

He snapped his fingers and vanished. Kae blinked rapidly and found herself back in the cab, this time with a different driver.

_Son of a bitch._

\---

Once she'd gotten back to the motel, she tried calling Sam and then Dean. Neither of them answered. Frustrated, she threw her phone on the bed and collapsed in the desk chair.

"Just sitting there won't help us find Sam and Dean."

She nearly fell out of her chair at the new voice. When she looked around, she saw Cas standing in front of her.

"Cas?" she choked out. "Son of a bitch -- knock first, why don't you?!"

He stared at her intently. "Why would I knock?"

"It's polite, you idiot." she snapped as she stood up. "Do you have any idea where they could be?"

He shook his head. "I've only been able to pinpoint it as another dimension. What about you?"

She hesitated. "Gabriel visited me today."

Cas's eyes widened at that. "What?"

Kae sighed. "We need to talk."


	6. Part 5

Part 5:  
"Talk about Gabriel. Why is he doing this?"

Cas was silent for a moment. "I think we should talk about you first."

Kae's eyes narrowed. "What about me?" she reached into one of her shopping bags and extracted a pair of dark slacks, a white blouse, and a dark jacket. Her plan was to head to the police station and try to pick up Sam and Dean's trail.

"What have you to do with Lucifer?" Cas asked.

She snorted and carried the clothes into the bathroom.

"Pick another question, Cas!" she yelled before slamming the door behind her. "and while you're at it, tell me about Gabriel."

"I think Lucifer places more importance considering both demons and angels are after you."

Kae stuck her head out of the bathroom and glared at him. "I think finding Sam and Dean before they both end up dead places a hell of a lot more importance than my problems."

"Your problems are theirs and mine if we're working together." he pointed out.

_Fuck._ It seemed she didn't have a choice; she needed to find Sam and Dean and Cas was her only option to getting into whatever dimension Gabriel had dumped the guys into.

"Alright. Fine."

\---

_"Mom I'll be back in a minute." Kae sniffled and turned away from the open casket. "Bathroom."_

_Max barely heard her. She was too busy talking to her sister, Kae's Aunt Becca. Kae hurried from the room and down to the Women's Bathroom. Her hands shook as she turned the sink on and splashed warm water on her face. First Layla and Aiden, and now Danny? It was too much._

_"Such a tragedy, huh? Your dad?"_

_In a flash, Kae grabbed the knife she kept hidden in her purse and turned around to see a middle aged, balding man wearing a suit behind her._

_"Who are you?"_

_"Zachariah." he responded. "I'm going to have to ask that you come with me."_

\----

"Zachariah came for you first?"

"Before I had any idea about Lucifer." Kae said quietly. "So...any idea where Sam and Dean are?"

"Working on it." Cas replied. "What exactly does Lucifer have to do with Zachariah?"

Kae was quiet for a moment. "Zachariah came after me because Lucifer was visiting me in my nightmares." she said. "I didn't know at the time what he wanted me for."

"And that is?"

"Aw come on Cas, do you really want her to spoil the big punch line?"

Kae let out a strangled yell as Cas shoved her behind him. When she was able to get her bearings, she saw Zachariah standing in front of them.

"I mean,Long time no see," he greeted her.

"Zachariah," she replied stiffly. "What do you want now?"

He pursed his lips and lifted his hand, flicking it to the side carelessly. Cas was flung sideways into the wall of Kae's motel room. He moved his hand a second time and Kae was flung back, against the mirror that hung on the wall over the TV stand.

Pain ripped through her back at the collision, as well as sliced through the skin on her face, neck and hands as it came into contact with shattered glass. She fell forward, crying out as her body slammed into the top of the TV, then fell onto the tacky gray carpet.

Another snap of Zachariah's fingers and suddenly Dean and Sam were back in the room with them.

"This is nice." he mused, before Dean could say a word. "Gang's all here."

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked angrily.

A soft groan caught their attention; Kae was sitting up slowly and trying to get up on her feet. Blood ran down the side of her face from a gash above her right eyebrow, and down her right cheek from minor cuts the glass shards had inflicted. Zachariah just shrugged and in a second, he'd vanished, only to reappear behind Kae, who cried out as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back, exposing her neck.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." he replied as a silver blade slid out of the sleeve of his free hand. He put the blade to Kae's throat. "At least the worst of the Apocalypse dies with her."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" asked Dean.

"Dean..." Kae whispered. "It's not...Its not important."

"You want me to save your ass?" he shot back at her. "Shut up alright?"

Zachariah sighed. "Well if you don't want to tell him yourself, I will." his eyes didn't leave Dean's face, no doubt waiting for the right reaction -- the one that would mean her death.

Hell maybe he meant for her to die at Dean's hand instead of his own.

"Lucifer has chosen her." Kae closed her eyes tight. "as the mother of his child."


	7. Part 6

Part 6:

"Lucifer has chosen her as the mother of his child."

Kae held her breath, waiting for the blade to cut through her throat, to feel the blood run down her neck as she bled out.

It never happened. There was a bright flash of light and a loud thud. The blade fell to the floor and she scrambled away from it, a cry of pain escaping her lips as she tried to breathe properly.

"Cas!" she wasn't sure whether it was Sam or Dean that said it, but the next thing she knew, there was a hand gently cupping the side of her face and then there was no pain.

"You okay?" Dean helped her to her feet.

"Now...I guess." she frowned and touched her head where the gash had been, and then felt her ribs. "He healed me?"

Dean shrugged. "Working with an angel comes in handy sometimes."

Kae looked down at the blade that Dean was holding. It was covered with blood. Her eyes moved from the knife to Zachariah's body. Impressions of his wings had burned into the bed and floor.

"Can we get out of here?" she asked quietly. "Now?"

He studied her face for a moment, and she looked away, uncomfortable. It was weird; she'd come close to dying on hunts before, but this was different. She couldn't explain it, but she just wanted to get out of that room -- out of the motel, out of the town.

"Probably best," Sam said after a moment. "We don't need the cops on our asses."

"Yeah." Dean agreed finally. "Let's go."

\---

_Kae yawned and opened her eyes. Her alarm clock read two in the morning, making her groan in frustration and bury her face in her pillow._

_"I wouldn't get so angry, Kaelyn...you're still asleep."_

_Damn it. Not now. Not right now. She grabbed the knife she kept under her pillow and flipped herself onto her back before sitting up._

_Lucifer was standing in the middle of her bedroom._

_"What do you want?" she asked coldly._

_He shrugged. "To talk?"_

_"Go fuck yourself," she spit out. "Zachariah told me what you want."_

_"Oh good for him." Lucifer crossed the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. Kae drew her knees up to her chest, trying to get as far away from him as was possible. "Makes it easier for me."_

_"Answer's no." she snarled. "I'm not going to be used as --"_

_He smiled. "Who said anything about using you? That was never my intention, Kae."_

_"I can't have kids -- and you're crazy if you think I'd ever have yours if I could!"_

_"Well technically it wouldn't be mine." Lucifer mused. "It'd be Sam Winchester's."_

_Kae frowned and climbed slowly up off of her bed._

_"Well you're barking up the wrong tree. I'm not going to let you use this guy for a failed attempt at impregnating me. Now get the fuck out of my head!"_

_Kae woke up abruptly, trying to stifle a scream. Once she realized she was in fact awake, and that Lucifer was gone, she broke down and cried._

\---

"How's she doing?"

Sam glanced at the back seat. Kae was curled up fast asleep, facing away from them. "Sleeping." he paused. "We gonna talk about it?"

Dean glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to the road again. "Talk about what?"

"What Zachariah said about her."

"What, about her supposedly being the mother of his kid?"

Sam was quiet. "My kid." he whispered.

Dean scoffed. "Oh God, don't even go there alright? It's not happening."

"Dean --"

"No!" Dean pulled the Impala over to the side of the road. "I told you before, we make our own future, alright? Kae's doing the same thing."

Sam looked out his window and bit his lip. "So what do we do?"

Dean didn't answer.


	8. Part 7

Part 7:

Kae didn't talk much when she woke up as they pulled into their new motel in Missouri the next day. What she did do was slam the door to her room in their faces and refuse to talk to either of them.

"You can't avoid them forever, you know."

Kae had been watching Sam and Dean pull out of the parking lot through the closed blinds when Cas decided to make an appearance.

"What did I say about knocking, Cas?" she snapped without looking away from the window.

"Your safety overrides politeness." Cas responded. "Dean asked me to watch you."

"Did he?"

"He and Sam are checking into a case. If you wish to join them, I can transport you there."

"Why bother?" Kae flopped down on her bed. "They'll kill me."

"No they won't."

"Cas you heard Zachariah didn't you?"

"I did...but why should that be of import? How many times have you told him no before?"

Kae closed her eyes and sighed. "Too many."

Cas settled himself into the desk chair, not taking his eyes off of her. "Why did he pick you?"

Kae rolled onto her side and stared hard at him. "How should I know?"

Cas rolled his eyes. "Are you blind? It's fate, Kaelyn."

"There's no such thing as fate," she sat up. "Get out, Cas. Now."

"Kae --"

"Out!" She yelled.

He was gone in a flash.

\---

"Okay so we're not killing her."

"Was that even an option?"

Dean shrugged and took a bite of the bacon on his plate. "Two years ago? I dunno...maybe. But now -- no." he paused. "We're gonna need her help to kill the devil."

Sam nodded. "But first we need to talk to her. About everything, alright?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Everything." he looked in his pocket for his wallet when their waitress brought them the bill. As he looked up, about to leave one of his alias credit cards on the table, he saw Cas standing in front of their table. "What?!"

Cas sat down at the empty chair at their table.

"It's Kae."

\---

_"Hello again."_

_Kae sucked in a long breath and turned around to see Lucifer standing in front of her. He looked different -- or at least his vessel did._

_"Who are you using this time?" she asked._

_"Guy's name is Nick." he responded. "That's all I know...all I care to know."_

_Kae took in her surroundings. She was not in her motel room -- instead Lucifer had created a large meadow, much like the one Gabriel had transported her to._

_"Answer's still no," she said flatly._

_"Oh come on, Kae." he strode forward and extended one hand forward. Kae let out a choking noise as she looked down in horror to see her stomach expanding._

_No. Nonononononononononononono._

_"Don't worry," he said with a small smile. "This isn't the real thing. As you've told me on numerous occasions, you're infertile...but I could fix that. If you let me, that is."_

_"Never." Kae snarled._

_He chuckled at that. "Never say never, Kae."_

"Kae? Kae wake up." Someone was shaking her. She slowly opened her eyes to see Dean, Sam, and Cas in the room. Sam had his hand on her shoulder and he looked concerned. "Cas said you kicked him out."

Kae gave Cas a dirty look. "Asshole." she muttered before looking at Sam. "Lucifer came to see me again."

"He was here?" Dean looked around the room uneasily.

"Technically," Kae remembered her stomach and looked down, hands shaking as she brought them to her mercifully flat stomach and sighed with relief. "He was in my dream. 'S how he normally does it." God she felt sick to her stomach. "Sam could you uh...get me a glass of water? Please?"

Sam nodded and moved quickly to fulfil her request. Dean waited until she had the cheap paper cup in hand and had drunk a few mouthfuls before he asked his question.

"Look Princess -- Kae --" he said hastily, noting her warning expression at the nickname. "We uh, we need to talk alright?"

"About?"

"Everything."


	9. Part 8

Part 8:

"You gonna eat or what?"

Kae looked at Dean disgustedly. He'd already eaten his burger, fries, and was now making his way through a sizeable slice of cherry pie.

"No thanks." she sipped her water tentatively, her mind still reeling from her nightmare.

"Kae, c'mon." Sam pushed a small plate of fries toward her. "You gotta eat something."

"Get off my case, alright?!" she spit out. "I'm not hungry."

"Well then talk," Dean pressed her. "Please." he added exasperatedly at the glare Sam gave him.

"What do you want to know?"

"For starters, why does Lucifer want you?" Sam asked.

Kae shrugged. "He said it was fate. Load of bullshit in my opinion." she tapped absently on the side of her glass with two fingers. "Remember Jesse? Imagine what a cambion, her child, and Satan himself would be capable of." she swallowed the lump in her throat. "The Apocalypse would look like a fucking carnival compared to what that kind of power could bring. _That's_ what he really wants."

The brothers said nothing, but she could tell by their expressions that their imaginations were projecting ideas about that kind of future that they definitely didn't like.

"He visits you in your nightmares right?" Sam asked after a while.

Kae nodded and looked at him. "You too, I'm assuming?" Sam nodded. "No offense Sam, but you're not my type."

He chuckled a little. "None taken."

"Alright, so Lucifer wants you to have his kid...that's not gonna happen." Dean hesitated and then leaned forward a little. "We're outside of Carthage. Meeting up with a couple of friends of ours."

"I don't understand," she frowned. "A case? Why two more hunters?"

Dean grinned.

"'Cause we're gonna kill the Devil."

\---

_"Got everything?"_

_"Yeah. I...are you sure you're gonna be okay?"_

_Max laughed. "Days of trying to escape your normal life to hunt and suddenly you're having second thoughts?"_

_Kae didn't answer. Max sighed._

_"I'll be fine, sweetie." she picked up one of the two suitcases Kae had packed and loaded it into the back seat of her car. "It's been six months...and I know you're gonna go crazy if you don't get out of here soon."  
"I don't want to leave you here by yourself."_

_Max scoffed. "Please. I can handle myself around the supernatural, remember?" She patted her daughter's shoulder gently. "You go, okay, and you give the things that killed them all hell. Understand?"_

_Kae nodded._

_"Yes ma'am."_

\---

"Wait...what do you mean, kill the Devil?"

"I mean, we take a gun and we kill the bastard." Dean stared at her as if she'd grown an extra head. "Unfortunately we don't have the gun."

Kae crossed her arms. "Of course. Who does?"

"Cas is taking care of it."

Kae glanced out the window of the Impala, watching as the highway sped past them. She sighed and sank lower in the back seat.

"What kind of gun did you guys find that can kill Lucifer?"

"Gun that can kill any supernatural thing there is." Sam answered. "We've used it before."

"And why don't you have it anymore?"

Dean and Sam exchanged a look. "We uh...lost it."

"It wasn't lost, it was stolen." Dean snapped.

"By who?"

"Woman who went by Bela Talbot." he responded. "Anyway, Cas's tracked it down. He's meeting us before we get to Carthage."

"Where's he meeting us?"

"Abandoned gas station couple miles away." Sam turned around in his seat to look at her. "You okay?"

Kae nodded.

"I'm fine."

\---

"Where was it?"

"Demons have been moving it around -- I was unable to find the buyer Bela Talbot procured it for. Most likely a very powerful demon." Cas sighed. "I was however, able to find the next place they were moving it and intercepted it."

Dean grinned and took the gun from the angel. "Nice."

Kae leaned forward to get a better look at the gun. It was a black colt revolver that looked like something out of an old Western -- she supposed it had been built back in the eighteen hundreds or so.

"This is the Colt?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She took the gun from him tentatively and turned it over in her hands before unlocking the safety and pointing it at the nearly toppled wall of the gas station they were in. When she pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

"No ammo." she announced before looking at Cas. "Can't really go after the devil with a gun that won't do anything." she looked at Cas. "You have any idea who that 'very powerful demon' is? I'm guessing he's got the ammo."

"Well you're right about that, love."

Sam and Dean swore loudly and Kae turned around so fast she lost her footing and nearly fell sideways, only for Cas to catch her and help her upright again.

A man dressed in a dark suit had appeared before them. In his hand, he held a box of bullets. His eyes flashed black briefly, then back to normal.

"Crowley." Cas said stiffly, breaking the silence that followed the demon's entrance. The demon grinned.

"Castiel." Crowley nodded briefly at him before looking back at Kae.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?"


	10. Part 9

Part 9:

"So this is the famous Kaelyn." Kae shuddered as Crowley circled her, his eyebrows raised. "Lucifer's concubine."

"Not going to happen." she retorted.

"Of course not," he said coolly. "We are, after all, intending to kill him. Aren't we?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"What's your angle?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Do I need one?" he asked. "Let's take this somewhere more private."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Dean told him.

Crowley cocked his head to the side and the corner of his mouth twitched as if he wanted to laugh. "Why don't you leave that up to her, mate?" he said casually. "She's the one I'm interested in after all."  
Kae looked from Dean to Sam to Cas, then back at Crowley. "You wouldn't be here offering us --"

"Ah," he held up a hand to stop her. "The only offer on the table is for you, Princess."

She smiled coldly at him and pulled out her knife. "Call me that again, you dick. I dare you."

He grinned. "Bet you love it when Satan says it."

"And I bet you'd love to be sent to the deepest circle of hell." she shot back.

Crowley shrugged. "Nothing I haven't seen before. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to discuss the matter at hand." he lifted the box in his hand and shook it slightly. "You need this."

"So give it to us."

"I don't do things for free, Kae." Crowley pocketed the box and Dean had to grab Kae and restrain her from lunging at the demon. "Now then -- if you would." he snapped his fingers and disappeared, along with Kae.

"Damn it," Dean groaned. "Cas?!"

"Wherever he's taken her, it's warded against Angels." he responded.

"So what do we do now?" Sam asked

His brother was quiet for a moment. He picked up Kae's knife where it had fallen. "What else? We wait."

\---

Kae let out a cry as her feet touched solid ground and she fell forward, pain lancing through her knees as they slammed into solid concrete. She inhaled sharply and got to her feet quickly, looking around her new surroundings: a decrepit parking garage. Crowley stood in front of her, his face impassive.

The box of ammunition lay on the ground, inches from her left hand. Without a thought, she grabbed it and slowly got back up. She looked for her knife but found that she didn't have it.

_Son of a bitch._

"I thought this would be better without weapons." Crowley said.

Kae scoffed. "Whatever. Just tell me what the fuck you want."

"I want Lucifer dead."

Wait...what? Of all the things this demon wanted in exchange for giving her the bullets for the Colt, this was what he wanted.

"But that's not all." she commented. "What else?"

He looked at her with surprise. "What else is there? Lucifer exterminates the human race, demons are next -- well, after creatures like yourself."

"He created you."

"Means to an end, darling," he told her. "Just like yourself. All he wants is a child from you, yeah?" she nodded. "He'll come after you eventually -- whether it's in that gigantic moose or in his current meatsuit. I'm offering you protection."

Kae could have laughed; Protection from a demon? As if.

"No thanks."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you sure about that? Best contraception you could ask for."

"No thanks. But killing Lucifer? That much I can do."

And with that, she disappeared right before his eyes.

\---

"I don't like this. It's taking too long."

"She's a big girl, Dean -- she can handle herself."

Sam and Dean had grown tired of waiting in the gas station and had gone out to Dean's car to wait there instead.

"Has she ever gone up against a demon, though?" Dean checked to make sure Ruby's old knife was still hidden inside his jacket.

"Is that concern I hear? How cute, Dean."

The boys' heads both jerked to look out Sam's window to see Kae standing outside the Impala, holding the box of bullets. She pulled open the back passenger door and climbed inside the car before handing the box to Sam.

Dean turned to stare at her questioningly, and she sighed exasperatedly.

"You really think I killed the dick? Crowley's not worth my time. Tried to deal with me and I refused."

"What'd he offer?" Dean asked as Sam took the Colt and began loading it.

"Supernatural contraception." she snorted. "He offered me protection, which I assumed would hold even if Lucifer doesn't bite the dust tonight."

"What'd you give him?" Sam wanted to know.

"Nothing. Said Lucifer was gonna die, grabbed the bullets and teleported out before he could do anything." she shrugged. "Look on his face was priceless. Anyway..." she looked from Sam to Dean. "What are we waiting for? Let's go put a bullet in the fucker already."

Dean nodded wordlessly and turned the key in the ignition before shifting the Impala into drive and they sped off toward Carthage.


	11. Part 10

Part 10:

They found what Kae assumed correctly to be the Harvelle's car parked at the edge of town. A blonde girl around Sam's age got out of the car as the Impala pulled up alongside it, followed by an older brunette woman.

"Thought you guys would never get here." the brunette told Dean. Her eyes fell on Kae. "Who's this?"

"Kae." she said simply, not keen on getting any other details out in the open. If they were working together on just this, there was no reason to let them know what she really was...but what else could she say? She looked at Sam for help, not sure what else to divulge.

"Met her back in Nebraska," Sam supplied. "Figured one more hunter couldn't hurt."

The brunette pursed her lips but didn't press for more details. She smiled at Kae and held out her hand, which Kae took.

"Ellen Harvelle." she introduced herself. "My daughter Jo." she nodded at the blonde.

"Nice to meet you guys." Kae smiled at Jo, who grinned back at her.

"Ellen where's Cas?" asked Dean.

She frowned.

"Thought he was comin' with you."

Kae felt her stomach clench uncomfortably. If neither the Winchesters nor Ellen and Jo knew where Cas was, something was really wrong.

"You don't think Lucifer knew we were coming, do you?" she asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Dean shrugged. "Though I have no idea what the hell he'd want with Cas." he opened the trunk of the Impala and took out a rifle before handing it to Sam and taking one of his own. Kae took a hand gun for herself and her old knife, as well as a machete normally used for beheading vampires.

She sucked in a long breath.

"You guys take care of Lucifer -- I can find Cas --"

"Not happening." Dean said flatly.

Kae stared at him incredulously. "I'm sorry, when did you get the right to dictate what I can and can't do?"

"Kae --"

"Fuck you." she snarled before looking at Sam. "I'm going to see if I can track Cas down. Call me if you need to."

She turned and set off into town.

\---

"She's here...with the Winchesters."

"Excellent."

"They're coming to kill you. Why not let me take care of them?" Meg looked uncertainly at Lucifer. "Or at least let me bring her to you?"

Lucifer shook his head, his eyes flicking from the demon standing before him to the angel trapped in the ring of holy fire behind her.

"No. She'll come to me on her own. The Winchesters may need some persuasion though. Can you do that?" he asked, touching her shoulder lightly.

Meg's face lit up at his request.

"I can do that."

\---

Kae inhaled sharply and shrank down in an alleyway as several demons walked past. Her grip on the knife in her hand tightened and she exhaled after several seconds and got to her feet.

"Cas?" she called quietly as she moved further down the alley until she could easily go behind the next building. "Cas, it's Kae. You around, man?"

"'Bout time you showed up, darlin'." she whipped around to see a man grinning at her. "Our father wants to see you."

She rolled her eyes and took out her knife. "I have no reason to see Lucifer."

The man grinned, his eyes turning black as he reached for her. "He has your angel. Think about that, won't you?"

And he vanished right before her eyes.

"Son of a bitch." she muttered before taking off down the alley at a run.

\---

"She won't say yes."

Lucifer could have laughed at the words that fell from Castiel's lips. "And what makes you say that, brother?"

Cas stared coldly back at him. "She never has. She would never allow such an abomination inside her -- not even for me."

Lucifer grinned. "But she would for Dean Winchester." Cas's eyes widened. "You couldn't tell? I've been in her dreams, Cas. I've heard her thoughts. Buried below a mound of all that hatred, all that anger? A whole plethora of other feelings she's been burying since the day they met. I don't understand the attraction myself, but hey -- who am I to tell her no? I want her happiness."

Somewhere up above them there was a loud crash and Kae suddenly crashed through the thin ceiling of the room Lucifer and Cas were in.

"Nice timing," Lucifer commented. "You know, I have to say, it's really nice to be outside of your head for once."

She bit her lip and got slowly to her feet. Her ribs ached and she had to use the wall to support her weight as pain exploded in her right ankle when she tried to put her weight on it.

"What do you want?" she asked through gritted teeth.

He shrugged.

"What I've always wanted, Kaelyn." he said quietly. "A family -- with you." Kae tried to push off of the wall but instead collapsed against it when her ankle gave out. He calmly walked over and bent to help her up, but she shrank away, opting to sit (more like lean heavily) against the crumbling wall . "I'm only trying to help you, Princess." he admonished as he reached for her again.

"Go to Hell." she gasped, kicking at him with her good foot. It wasn't much, and it allowed Lucifer to get a hold of her calf.

"I told you I would never do anything to hurt you." he said quietly before lowering her leg to the ground. "Now how about we talk about this like civilized human beings?"


	12. Part 11

Part 11:

"Talk? You want to _talk_?" Kae looked at him incredulously. "Th-There's nothing to talk about!"

Lucifer chuckled and reached over to tug a strand of hair playfully. "That's where you're wrong -- we have so much to discuss." he checked his watch. "And only a little time to do it. I'm on a schedule."

"What on earth could you possibly have that's so important?" she asked, trying to inch away from him, but unfortunately didn't have much success. Her body was just in too much pain to cooperate with her mind.

"Oh...you know. Apocalypse type stuff -- but you can ask the Winchesters about it. Or Cas for that matter." Kae's eyes flicked briefly to the angel silently watching them before they went back to Lucifer. "But there's one thing I find very interesting about you."

"And that is?"

"How since you met Dean Winchester, you've never given any sign that you're attracted to him." Lucifer said, amused by the look of disbelief on her face.

"I don't --" she started, but he cut her off.

"You keep feelings like love buried deep under everything else." he observed. "Don't lie -- especially to me. I know, Kae. I've been in your head." 

She shook her head adamantly, trying to deny his words. All she'd ever seen Dean as was a dick, to be honest. Romantic notions be damned. She was something he'd sooner kill than even entertain the idea of being with -- regardless of the fact that he was hot as hell, but then looks had never been top of her list.

"Denial is an ugly thing, Kae." Lucifer was watching her closely. "He hides it as well as you do. I'm not even sure he realizes it...but he will eventually."

Tears stung in her eyes as she turned away from him. "Fuck you." she whispered thickly.

"I'll just leave you here then. You need to think, right? Much like Cas here. I'll give you some time."

And then he was gone.

\---

Dean swore silently as he got the voicemail on Kae's cell. Behind him, the hardware store he, Sam, Ellen and Jo had hunkered down in following being ambushed by Meg, who'd set a pack of hell hounds on them was in flames.

Flames were good; they meant the trap that had been rigged for the hell hounds had worked. Dean threw the makeshift trigger aside and ran a hand through his hair. Behind him Sam was pressing a makeshift bandage to the wound left by one of the damn mutts in Jo's side. She needed a hospital fast.

The only thing that was preventing Dean from moving to get them back to their car was the fact that Kae wasn't picking up her phone. He'd tried her at least ten times while trapped in the hardware store, and in between calls to Cas's phone, had been trying to crush the panic welling up inside him.

She was a cambion -- all powerful. She had to be fine...right? Well...she was a cambion that Lucifer wanted as a concubine.

Shit.

"Sam you get them back to the cars." he said as he pulled out his cell phone and tried Kae again.

No answer. _Fuck._

"Dean --"

"Not leaving --"

"Don't argue with me!" he exploded, and both Jo and Sam fell silent. "Get back to the car. Wait for us."

"You don't even know where she is," Sam protested.

Dean shrugged and pulled the demon killing knife out of his jacket after making sure the Colt was safely tucked away in the back of his jeans. "I'll figure it out -- just get them back to their car, alright?"

Sam clearly was not cool with the current plan, but it didn't look like Dean could be deterred from it -- extremely weird for him and Kae constantly bickering at each other.

But then the bickering could be something else.

That thought almost made Sam smile before he moved to help Ellen and Jo back to their car.

Dean waited until the others were out of his sight before taking off down the empty street.

\---

"Kae?" Cas watched the barely conscious creature stir feebly and turn her head to smile at him.

"Cas?" she said quietly, her brow furrowing. "...out?"

He shook his head. "No I didn't get out." he looked at the ring of fire that still surrounded him. "Stay awake, Kae -- Sam and Dean will come and find us."

She shook her head slowly, whimpering a little.

"No. They're gonna kill Lucifer." she mumbled. "more important."

"Kae you've got to stay with me alright?" he said urgently. "Stay awake, please."

She could barely breathe let alone listen to him.

"Kae?" she heard him yell one more time before she lost consciousness. "Kae!"


	13. Part 12

Part 12:

It took him over an hour of combing the town, but before long Dean managed to find them. Cas was standing in the middle of a ring of holy fire and Kae was lying by the wall unconscious. One look at the sizeable hole in the ceiling told him she'd fallen through while looking for Cas.

"Dean." he flinched as Cas said his name, and turned his attention back to the angel.

"Give me a sec," he managed to say, "and I'll get you outta here, alright?" he looked at Kae again as he pocketed the demon-killing knife. "What happened?"

"I -- Lucifer captured me," he replied. "I don't know if Kae was looking for me, or if she was -- She was." he sighed as Dean nodded in confirmation. "She talked with Lucifer -- I don't...I couldn't hear what was said. There was a barrier. He didn't do anything to her." he added at seeing the ugly expression on Dean's face at the mere mention of Lucifer. "She remains infertile."

Dean looked around the room, trying to see if he could find something that would break the circle of flames so Cas could get free. His eyes settled on a rectangular, metal beam on the other side of the room.

"Alright...hang tight." he said abruptly before going to grab it.

It took him a few minutes but he managed to drag it over and drop it directly in the circle. It seemed to work in cutting a path through the flamesas Cas stepped up on it and walked quickly across it out of the fire ring.

"Thank you." he nodded at Dean.

Dean merely nodded and moved over to check Kae's injuries.

"Kae?" he said tentatively, reaching over and gently shaking her shoulder.

She whimpered and slowly opened her eyes. "D...?" she said thickly.

He couldn't help but smile in relief as she tried to lift her head. "Hey."

"Cas..."

"He's right here, I got him out." Dean assured her. He looked up at the angel. "Can you heal her?"

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, my powers are blocked."

Dean swore silently before looking back at Kae. "Alright, we gotta get you to a hospital...or at least out of this town. Can you stand?"

She shook her head. "Tried...ankle."

Damn it. "Alright. We're gonna get you up, okay? Cas, you're gonna take her to the edge of town -- if Sam didn't go with Ellen and Jo to the hospital, I'm pretty sure he's still there. Get her to the car and have Sam drive you two as far as from Carthage as you can. Then you heal her."

Cas nodded. "Okay...but what about you?" Dean pulled out the Colt and his eyes widened. "You're going after the Devil on your own? It's suicide!"

"We don't have any other options, Cas!" Dean snapped. "He's setting Death free and that can't happen!" Cas looked like he was going to argue, but decided against it. Dean let out a long sigh and moved to lift Kae, carefully sliding one arm under her knees as he wrapped his other around her back.

She winced at the movement and tried not to cry out as he stood up, but it was hard. She couldn't stop herself when Dean put her in Cas's arms.

"Hey, it's okay." Dean was going to fucking murder Lucifer. It didn't matter if he hadn't caused the injuries she had now -- he was the reason -- add in the fact that he intended to, well, fuck her in Sam's body and he had all the more reason to kill the bastard -- besides of course that Lucifer wanted Sam purely because he was the 'true vessel'. "We're gonna get you outta here and Cas'll heal you. You're gonna be just fine."

She looked up at him through half-closed eyes and moaned softly. He thought he heard an 'okay' mixed in the sound but he couldn't be sure.

"Let's go."

\---

Kae wasn't sure how she managed to stay conscious as Dean led her and Cas out onto the street and back to the Impala. Sam was leaning against the driver's side door, gun in hand.

"What the hell happened to her?" he asked as Dean quickly opened the back passenger door and Cas carefully set Kae on the leather seat.

Dean ignored him and looked at Cas. "How you feelin' now, man?"

He shrugged.

"Not as stifled...but it's not a huge change. I need to be farther from the city in order to heal her."

Kae opened her eyes and glared at the two of them. "Not dead yet...Sam...go..."

Dean shook his head.

"No." he looked at his brother. "Get her and Cas as far away from here as you can."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "What about you?"

Dean shrugged. "Someone's gotta do it." he checked the ammo in the Colt.

"Not alone." Sam argued. "You're gonna end up dead if --"

"Sam's going with you," Kae said wearily. "We'll....wait here. You okay with that, Cas?" Cas gave a half shrug, and Sam pushed off of the Impala.

"Alright that's settled." he said. "Let's move."

Dean groaned but didn't protest. The brothers took off at a run back down the road.

\---

_Kae._

_..._

_Kae._

"Sh....Lay...tryin' t'sleep." Kae mumbled. A hand brushed her hair back off of her forehead. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see a girl around fourteen that had dark brown hair staring down at her.  
"Layla." she said thickly, lips curling into a smile. Her half-sister's bright blue eyes lit up at the sound of her name. "M...Missed you..."

In the front passenger seat of the Impala, Cas's head jerked around and he watched Kae reaching a trembling hand toward nothing but thin air.

He may not be an expert on human health, but given the extent of the injuries she'd suffered, he was certain that Kae was running out of time.

Cas glanced down at the driver seat, and to his shock saw that Dean had left the keys sitting on the leather cushion.

He knew that Dean was beyond particular about his car, and that Dean would probably kill him if (no, when) he found out. He also didn't know how to drive so there was higher risk of him getting into a wreck.  
It couldn't hurt though...and Kae couldn't die. Not like this. He just needed to get far enough that his power would kick in again, that was all.

He took a deep breath and reached for the keys.


	14. Part 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lack of updating...I lost a good chunk of the story when one of my flash drives malfunctioned, so now I'm trying to get the rest of it up here.

Part 13:  
 _When Kae awoke later, she found herself standing on a beach, a nine-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl building a sandcastle at her feet._  
  
She looked around and saw her mom and Danny watching them from beach chairs a few feet away.  
  
 _"Kae help us finish the sandcastle!" the boy begged._  
  
 _Aiden..._  
  
 _Layla..._  
  
 _Oh God. She remembered this -- the beach had been their family vacation when she was thirteen._  
  
 _It could only mean one thing...she was dying._  
  
\---  
  
Cas felt like he might have a heart attack -- well, like his vessel might have a heart attack. Driving was definitely something he would have to master in time. Of course, he could probably tap into Jimmy Novak's knowledge of the subject at some point, but that wasn't important right now.  
  
Kae was important.  
  
It wasn't until they were at least thirty miles away from Carthage that Cas pulled the Impala over (narrowly avoiding crashing into the Honda in front of them) to the side of the road.)  
  
Kae was silent in the back seat. He had to act fast -- he just hoped that a reaper hadn't reached her yet. It was a good thing that he felt his power coming back.  
  
"Hang on, Kae." he muttered as he set the car into park. Kae didn't notice when he got into the back seat with her. Cas took a deep breath and placed his hand carefully to the side of her face, breathing a sigh of relief as the cuts and the blood vanished, and her ribs and ankle mended.  
  
A few seconds later, Kae opened her eyes and stared over at him.  
  
"Cas?" she said. "Where are -- ?"  
  
"I took you from Carthage so that I could heal you." he responded.  
  
Kae blinked and looked around. "Dean...Sam...where are they?"  
  
"They went to take care of Lucifer."  
  
She smiled a little. "So you committed grand theft auto to save me? I'm touched."  
  
Cas frowned.  
  
"I didn't steal Dean's car. I borrowed it."  
  
"He's gonna kill you if he finds out." she commented as she climbed over him to get out of the car.  
  
"I doubt that."  
  
Kae rolled her eyes and got into the front seat. "Yeah, whatever. Any word from them on whether Lucifer's dead?" He shook his head. "Alright then -- let's go help 'em out."  
  
\---  
  
When they got back into Carthage, they didn't stay long. They stayed long enough for Dean and Sam to run up to the car, Dean yell at Kae to get into the back seat (she was sure he'd tear into Cas for taking the car, but he didn't) and for him and Sam to get into the driver and passenger seats.  
  
Dean's foot slammed on the gas and they tore off down the highway, leaving Carthage in the dust.  
  
\---  
  
"So...is he dead?"  
  
They were about fifty miles away from the Oklahoma state border when Kae finally got up tthe nerve to ask Sam what had happened. He and Dean hadn't said a word since they'd left Missouri. Cas had left them over an hour ago -- for what, he hadn't said.  
  
"No." Sam said finally. "The Colt didn't work."  
  
She frowned. "You said --"  
  
"I know what we told you...but no one told us there were things the Colt couldn't kill."  
  
"Five things." Dean said bluntly. "and Lucifer is one of them."  
  
"What?" Kae slumped back in her seat, eyes widening in shock. "So the bastard can't be killed?!"  
  
"We'll figure something out," Dean's eyes found hers in the rear view mirror. "Okay?"  
  
She didn't like the lack of confidence she heard in his voice when he said that, but what else could they do?  
  
"Kae?"  
  
Sam had turned to look at her. "You alright?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"No."


	15. Part 14

Part 14:  
Kae wasn't sure what time it when she woke up later, but it wasn't without her screaming her head off. Good thing she didn't remember this nightmare (unlike numerous others that were seared into her brain).   
  
"Kae?"'   
  
The door that linked her room to Sam and Dean's had opened (any other day she would have been pissed at the brothers for getting adjoining rooms, but after everything that had happened in Carthage, she just couldn't be bothered to care). Dean stared at her questioningly.   
  
"I'm fine," she wiped her eyes and pulled the duvet up to her chin. "What are you doing up? It's..." she glanced at the clock. "Three in the morning."   
  
"Usually don't get more than four hours." he replied.   
"Oh."   
  
He shifted his weight awkwardly and then looked at the floor. "You sure you're good?"   
  
She nodded and smiled weakly.   
  
"I'll live." she said with a yawn.   
  
He nodded mutely and started to pull the door shut.   
  
"Well...'night, Prin - Kae."   
  
She nodded and laid back down. "'Night, Dean."   
  
"How since you met Dean Winchester, you've never given any sign that you're attracted to him."   
  
_..._  
 _"You keep feelings like love buried deep under everything else. Don't lie - especially to me. I know, Kae. I've been in your head."_   
  
_..._   
  
_"Denial is an ugly thing, Kae. He hides it as well as you do. I'm not even sure he realizes it...but he will eventually."_   
  
Lucifer's words flooded her brain, on repeat as soon as Dean was gone. She let out a groan and threw her pillow over her head.  
  
  
\---   
  
"Are you guys sure about this?"   
  
"Positive." Dean watched her stare up at the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Facility. "Martin wouldn't have called us if it wasn't serious."   
  
"You think the doc will admit the two of you?" she asked in a low voice as Dean signed him and Sam in to see Dr. Fuller, one of the doctors in the facility.   
  
"Oh, not the two of us." Dean elbowed her lightly in the side. "Sam got all three of us a consultation."  
  
Kae rounded on Sam in horror. "You didn't."   
  
He shrugged.   
  
"It's better than having you out in the open where we can't reach you for back up." he muttered as they took their seats.   
  
"Oh so this isn't about not thinking I can do the job, it's about not thinking I can handle Lucifer. Great Sam...fucking great."   
  
"Well I'm sorry, but given last time - "   
  
"You know what, shut up alright? It's none of your business what happened between Lucifer and me." her voice rose a notch. Dean would have told her to shut it, but it was lending well to the story he'd fed Fuller to get them in today.   
  
"Eddie, Alex, and Kae Thomas?" the receptionist broke into their conversation. "Dr. Fuller will see the three of you now."   
  
Kae looked angrily at Sam.   
  
"What?" he hissed. "You're not on a wanted list - we are."   
  
Dean rolled his eyes. "C'mon. Let's get this over with."   
  
\---   
  
An hour and an apocalypse story combined with a prophecy of the Antichrist's mother later, Sam, Dean and Kae were being admitted into Glenwood Springs. Kae hated the patient scrubs she'd been made to wear. It was ridiculous. After the nurses had cleared her, she traipsed off to find where the brothers were.   
  
She found them seated at a table in the lounge with an older man.  
  
  
"...have, uh...had glimpses, but there's not a lot to go on."   
  
"Are they reliable?" Dean asked as she approached.   
  
"Oh sure, why wouldn't they be?" The man answered. When Dean turned around as if to gesture to the current mental state of the patients, he saw Kae standing just behind his chair, giving him an annoyed look.  
  
"Oh hey." he greeted. "How did you enjoy having your brain examined?"   
  
"How about you shut your mouth before I shut it for you?" she shot back. Sam smothered a chuckle behind his hand and the boys' friend looked up at her in interest.   
  
"Who's your friend, boys?"   
  
"Um...this is Kae. She's uh...helping us with this case." Dean cleared his throat and looked away from her. "Kae, this is Martin."   
  
" _The_ Martin?" Kae raised an eyebrow. Dean had filled her in on how many times Martin had saved his father before they'd gone to the facility that morning.   
  
Martin grinned.   
  
"Hope it's all good things they've told you."   
  
Kae couldn't really do anything except shrug and nod with a halfhearted smile; Dean had also told her about what had happened to Martin in Albuquerque. "So what have we got here?" she asked as Sam pulled up an empty chair so she could sit down.   
  
Martin shrugged. "I don't know yet. A ghost, demon, monster...animal, vegetable, mineral." he chuckled. "Hospital's had five deaths in the last four months. Doctors keep calling it suicides, but they're wrong."   
  
"So you've seen this thing?" Sam asked.   
  
Kae rolled her eyes. "Has anyone seen this thing?"   
  
Martin shook his head. Kae could've screamed; at the rate they were going, they were either chasing a figment of Martin's imagination, or if this was real, people were going to start dying again, and soon.  
"Alex, Eddie. Kae." The three looked up to see Dr. Fuller approaching them. There was no way they could discuss the case any further with Martin for now. "Well, I'm glad to see you're making friends. Why don't you and, uh, Mr. Creaser join us for group?" Kae exchanged a questioning look with Sam., who shrugged and stood up. She followed suit, and Dean was right behind her - only to be stopped by the doctor. "Actually I'm gonna be putting you in the afternoon group. Kae, you'll be going with him."   
  
Kae opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself at a look from Sam. She turned and flopped back down in her chair dejectedly.   
  
This was fucking ridiculous.   
  
\---   
  
"Look, fuck her, alright?" Kae looked at Dean who was staring dejectedly at the tiled floor of the hall they were in. "Shrinks are -"   
  
"They suck." Dean responded gloomily. "I just hope Sam found something so we can get the hell out of here."   
  
Dean had just gotten out of a therapy session with his doctor -- Dr. Cartwright. And he had hated it.   
  
At that moment, Sam came walking out of another room and quickly made his way over to them.   
  
"Sam," Kae said, relieved to see him. "You find anything?"   
  
He nodded.   
  
"A guy says he saw the creature. We should talk to him." he looked from Kae to Dean. "You wanna meet here in an hour?"   
  
She nodded. "Sounds cool."   
  
She gave Dean a gentle shove and he turned, only to be met by a female patient. A female patient who grabbed him and kissed him hard.   
  
_Son of a bitch._ Kae wanted to grab the woman and pull her off, but the combined pressure of Sam's hand suddenly grabbing her wrist, and the thought that this patient was clearly not in her right mind kept her from doing anything.   
  
The woman pulled back after a moment and stared at them.   
  
"Hi." she said finally.   
  
"Hi." Dean responded.   
  
"I'm Wendy," she told him.   
  
"Uh-huh."   
  
Wendy turned and walked away. Dean pursed his lips and shrugged. "Maybe this place isn't so bad after all."   
  
Sam gave him an incredulous look. "Dude, you _cannot ___hit that."  
  
Dean turned to watch Wendy as she walked away.   
  
"Oh so torn."   
  
Kae made a mental note to hit him hard with something whenever they managed to get out of the place.   
  
\---   
  
"Man we cannot tell her."   
  
"Why not? It's not the same one - I think if it was, she'd have noticed and gone Lara Croft on the bitch!"   
  
After finding out the man who'd seen the creature was dead, his brain completely drained, Sam and Dean had gone to Martin, who'd figured out that what they were hunting was a wraith. Kae had been roped into a session with Dr. Cartwright, so it was a seriously good thing that she was out of the loop right now.   
  
Sam folded his arms. "Look, she's been searching for this thing for two years. We tell her it's a wraith, even a different one, she's still gonna nail the sucker."   
  
Dean snorted. "And that's a bad thing?"   
Sam sighed. "She won't use human methods, Dean. If these people catch her, she's going to be locked up for good."   
  
"It'd keep Lucifer off of her." Dean tried to reason.   
  
"When has anything stopped Lucifer from getting into contact with her?" Sam pointed out. "If she goes under lock up, she's a sitting duck." he paused. "We gotta keep her safe."   
  
Dean hesitated, but then nodded. Sam was right; after everything that had happened in Carthage (he still felt so angry when he though of how bad her injuries had been, even if Cas had healed her), he wanted - no _needed ___Kae to be safe.  
  
"Okay."


	16. Part 15

Part 15:

"How's it goin'?"

Kae rubbed the back of her neck irritably as she made her way out of Dr. Cartwright's office. Martin grinned at her before following her as she made her way down the hall.

"Not now Martin." her hands were shaking slightly.

Damn her. Damn Dr. Cartwright for making her talk about Lucifer! It had taken all of her will power not to strangle the woman.

"If you're looking for Sam and Dean, they're working on taking it down."

She sighed.

"Taking what down?"

"A wraith," he replied.

Kae felt her insides go cold.

" _What?_ "

\---

"Have you seen Kae?"

Martin merely shrugged, concentrating on the painting he was working on. Dean ground his teeth in frustration; Sam was on lockdown for attacking Dr. Fuller, whom they'd assumed was the wraith.

The doctor was clean.

"Martin c'mon, work with me alright?" Dean said patiently. "Have you seen her?"

Martin paused and set his brush aside before looking at the younger man. "She went after the wraith."

"You told her?!" Dean snarled, anger funneling through his veins at Martin's words.

Martin shrugged and reached for the paint brush again.

"I figured she should know, I mean -- the three of you came here for the case, right?" he frowned. "What, you're not like...involved, are you?"

Dean barely heard him as he ran from the room.

\---

Kae's nails dug into her arms as she watched one of the mirrors near the ceiling of the nurse's station.

It had to be a wraith. A wraith.

What if it was Diana, the wraith she'd been searching for for two years?

"Kae?"

She flinched and turned around. A nurse was staring at her with concern. "You alright, honey?"

"No." she said shortly, "Leave me alone."

"I think you might need some _rest_ ," the nurse hissed, grabbing her arm forcibly. When Kae tried to tug it out of her grip, she caught a glimpse of them in the mirror. The nurse wasn't human.

The nurse was the wraith.

"If you come with me willingly, I won't drill out your boyfriend's brains," the nurse told her, smiling brightly as she rubbed Kae's arms. "and he's well on his way to being locked up nice and tight, just like his brother.

"If you hurt him, so help me God -"

The wraith rolled her eyes and tugged Kae down the hall.

"I'll make him suffer, don't you worry." the wraith's smile became malicious. "Or maybe I already did."

Kae let the monster drag her far enough until they came to a storage room. She took a deep breath and made sure other patients and doctors weren't in sight as she made her move, shoving the wraith hard - so hard that she crashed through the door and into the storage room.

"You're dead," she snarled before lunging at the monster.

\---

It took Dean forever to find Kae - the commotion and the frightened patients and doctors made it easy; of course with a nurse pinning a patient to the ground appearing to be about to inject her with somethng, the doctors chalked it up to an outburst, and let the nurse handle her.

Dean knew better - the 'syringe' in her hand was anything but. She had Kae pinned down, the tip of the skewer that had extended from her wrist just centimeters from the skin of Kae's neck. Both were bloody and bruised, and Kae was still struggling.

His grip on the silver box cutter in his hand tightened to the point where it was painful.

"Hey!"

The skewer had barely broken Kae's skin before the wraith heard him and turned around, distracted. It gave Kae the chance to throw her off. "Dean!"

He tossed her the box cutter just as the wraith moved to attack him. In two quick moves, Kae had managed to tackle her, digging her knee forcibly into the wraith's spine (probably breaking it, but Kae couldn't be bothered to care) as she stabbed at the wraith's neck - repeatedly.

Dean watched her apprehensively as she stayed where she was when the creature below her finally no longer moved, the box cutter falling from her hand to the floor with a small clatter.

"Kae?" he said quietly.

She didn't respond. He moved over to her slowly and touched her shoulder. She flinched and nearly kicked his feet out from under him, stopping herself as she realized what was going on, and that the wraith was dead.  
But it wasn't the same wraith.

"Kae?" Dean repeated as he helped her to her feet. "It's okay - she's dead."

"It wasn't the one I was looking for," Kae whispered, looking up at him with eyes full of tears. "It wasn't the same one, Dean."

"Yeah." his arms came around her hesitantly and he sighed in relief when she didn't push him away or attack him. "We'll find the bitch okay? Just gonna take some time, that's all."

"You promise?" Kae looked up at him, taking several deep breaths to calm herself. "You promise we'll find her?"

Dean nodded.

"I promise." he paused. "C'mon - let's find Sam and get the hell out of here."


	17. Part 16

Part 16:

"No, I'm fine - seriously!" Kae groaned in frustration and tightened her grip on the bloody t-shirt she had pressed to her calf. The Impala sped over a large pothole and she swore violently as she was nearly thrown out of her seat.

"Kae -"  
  
"Mom I promise - we just got in a bad fight with a bunch of demons and I kind of have to go. I'm sorry, I love you and I'll call you in the morning!" she hit the end button on her cell and dropped it on the seat next to her. "Sam you doin' okay?!"

"I'll live." Sam groaned, pressing a rag to his bloody shoulder. "Beats being shot, that's for sure."

"Don't go there." Kae snarled, wincing as she pulled the t-shirt tighter over her wound. "I was fucking scared out of my mind when I got back and saw you two were dead!"

"Well we came back, so drop it." Dean said flatly.

"What?" Kae stared at him in disbelief. "I'm sorry, but that was a huge fucking deal!"   
  
"We already talked about this!"

"And I'm not done!" she yelled.

"Um...guys?" Sam looked over at Dean nervously. Dean tore his eyes from the reflection of Kae's angry face in the rear view mirror to see what the problem was.

A huge flaming barrier was blocking the road ahead. Dean slammed his foot on the break just in time and the car screeched to a halt a few feet from the burning object -- a semi truck.

"Turn around!" Kae screamed as three people began running around the truck toward the Impala.

"The hell do you think I'm doin'?" Dean yelled back as the Impala wheeled around to face the opposite direction, but it was too late - their attackers were on them. Kae was dragged from the back seat through the window, screaming.

"Kae!" Dean yelled as another grabbed him and did the same, yanking him out of the car through the driver's side door window. She surprised him by getting the upper hand on her attacker, extended her hand forward, and the demon was blasted backwards.

Dean's eyes widened; he'd never seen Kae exhibit that kind of power before.

It was hot as hell.   
  
_Focus Dean. Damn it, come on!_   
  


"Dean!" Sam shouted, and he didn't understand why until he turned around and the demon attempting to kill him was blasted back as well.

Kae exhaled and staggered toward him. "You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." she smiled wearily at him.

"I'm fine too. You know, in case either of you wondered," Sam snapped as he approached, bloody knife in hand.

Kae turned away from Dean quickly, hoping her face was not as red as it looked. Though with the inferno blazing behind them, she supposed she could blame it on that and get away with it.

"Sorry Sam." she said earnestly.

Sam rolled his eyes and smiled at her.

"'S fine."

Suddenly, the demons behind them began to scream. When Kae looked over at the two, she saw that they had been hit full blast with water from a hose. They wouldn't be screaming if -- Holy water. They were being hit with holy water.

Where the hell was it coming from?

"Look," Sam gasped, tugging at her sleeve until she looked where he wanted her to. Another group of people were emerging. One man read something in Latin through a megaphone, which Kae recognized as an exorcism.

The demons didn't put up much of a fight, and soon had vacated their meat suits.   
  
"You guys alright?" One of the men had approached them. Kae glared at him but he grinned back. "Quite a woman you got yourself there, boys."

"She's uh..." Sam shrugged, "She's something alright."

The man didn't take his eyes off of Kae. "Be careful. It's...dangerous around here."

"Noted." Kae attempted to smile, but couldn't. "Who are you guys anyway?"

"Sacrament Lutheran Militia," he responded.

"Wait...the what?" Dean asked.

The man shrugged. "I hate to tell you guys this, but those were demons, and this is the Apocalypse. So...buckle up."

\---

"...That's a police-issued shotgun. That truck is, uh...inspired. Where'd you guys pick up all this crap?"

Kae leaned against the side of the Impala, trying to keep her weight off of her injured leg; it had started bleeding again. She didn't pay too much attention to the conversation going on between the brothers and their rescuers.

"Leg looks painful." Another man had walked up to her.

"I'll live," she said shortly, pressing the t-shirt on the wound again and hissing at the pain the action elicited.

"I can give you a lift into town, get our doctor to take a look at it," he suggested. "I'm Paul by the way."

"That's nice...thanks, but I'm -"

"You ready to go, Kae?" Dean had walked back over and was giving Paul a dangerous look. Kae nearly laughed. "Who's your friend?"

This was too funny -- Dean was _jealous._

Kae caught Sam's eye over his brother's shoulder. Sam smirked and she forced herself not to laugh.

"This is uh...Paul. I'm fine." she gave Dean's arm a soft pat, and got back in the back seat of the Impala. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go."

\---

The town looked like a warzone - defenses wracked up on every corner of every block they passed. They finally stopped on one street, and Paul and his friends led them up to a church. Kae tried to stifle her gasp of surprise at seeing the Devil's Trap painted on the pavement outside the door. Dean's hand found hers and squeezed it before tugging her across it quickly and into the building.

She felt a little weak, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

There was a wedding taking place inside the church.

"Wedding?" Sam scoffed. "Seriously?"

Paul shrugged. "Yeah. We've had eight so far this week." he jabbed Kae lightly in the side. "How 'bout you and your boyfriend be lucky number nine? End of the times and all."   
  
"I -" Kae could feel her face growing hot and avoided looking at Dean.

"She's uh...we're not together." Dean said lamely.

Paul looked surprised.

"Really? Then maybe I've got a shot after all, huh?"

Kae forced a tight smile as she looked at him. _In your fucking dreams, pal._ When she didn't respond, he shifted his weight awkwardly and looked over at the pastor, who was finishing up the wedding ceremony.

"I'll uh...I'll get the Pastor for you."

\---

Before long, they'd learned that demons had taken overtaken the town, and the Pastor - Pastor Gideon - had a daughter named Leah, who as it turned out, was a prophet. They got to see her in action and it was something that made Kae uneasy. People were dying. Sam ended up calling Cas in. But what showed up was a very drunk Cas. He identified Leah not as a prophet, but as an impostor.

"She rises when Lucifer walks the Earth," he explained with slurred speech. "'And she shall come, bearing false prophecy.' This creature has the power to take a human's form, read minds. Book of Revelation calls her 'the Whore of Babylon.'"

"So how do we stop her?" Kae asked.

Cas showed her a wooden stake. "It's a stake made from a cypress tree in Babylon."

"Well alright then," Kae looked from the angel to Sam and Dean. "Let's end this bitch."

\---

Later, Kae was sitting outside the church when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID - Mom. Damn it.

"Mom?" she said when she answered the call.

"Hello Kaelyn."

She nearly stopped breathing at the sound of the cool, feminine voice on the other end of the line.

"Anna."

Kae didn't understand - she'd thought Cas had killed Anna that night - how could she have survived?

"If you want to see your mother again, you'll leave Sam, Cas, and Dean to whatever hunt you're all on, and you'll come back to Virginia to see me."

"Don't hurt her." Kae begged, hating the way she sounded, but she wasn't going to lose her mother. Not like this. "I can be there in a couple of days."

"Excellent. I'll see you then."

\---

"Wait, you're bailing? Why?!" Kae didn't answer. She shoved past Dean and began throwing her things back into her suitcase before going over the room twice to be sure she hadn't missed anything.

"Kae talk to us," Sam tried, "You can't just bolt without -"

"I'm gonna fucking murder her," Kae muttered. "Angel blade...angel blade...Oh." she grabbed Sam's duffel and rooted around in it before finding a silver blade. She threw it in with her clothes and toiletries.

"Kae!" Dean strode forward and grabbed her wrist. "What's going on?!"

"What's going on?" She rounded on him and shoved him hard - not hard enough to seriously injure, but hard enough that he fell back, onto the floor. "Anna has my mother!"

She closed her suitcase, grabbed it and ran from the room.

\---

Dean found Kae throwing her suitcase into the trunk bed of a beat up, light gray Honda.

"Kae?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped. "You and Sam stay here, take care of the Whore. I'll be fine."

He took a step closer to her, trying to think of something - anything he could that would make her stay. All he got out was,

"You know this is a trap, right?"

Kae slammed the trunk lid down so hard the latch broke. She didn't notice.

"I'm not talking about this, Dean! The angels are not going to win. Not this time." she breathed heavily through her nose and glanced at the trunk, finally noting the broken latch. Without a word, she grabbed her suitcase and headed past him toward the passenger's side door. "They're not going to kill my mom."

The hand that clamped down on her wrist stopped her, and she turned to see Dean standing there.

"Let go of me."   
  
He shook his head.

"I'm not letting you go face Anna alone, Kae!" Were those actual fucking tears in his eyes? This was too much.

She smiled sadly. "I'm a big girl, alright? I can handle Anna."

"Kae," he said softly, a pleading note in his voice. " _Please..._ "

Before she knew what she was doing, she kissed his cheek.

"I'll call if I need you." she whispered, touching his arm gently with her free hand.

When she turned and tried to pull away again, she was met by a hard yank, and before she knew it, she was being turned around and Dean's lips crashed into hers -

A tiny moan escaped her throat as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands settled on her hips.

"What was that for?" she asked breathlessly when they broke apart.

"Something to convince you to stay?" he tried as he reached over and tucked a bright red lock of hair behind her ear.

She smiled but shook her head.

"She's my mom, Dean...I'm not going to let that bitch hurt her."

He considered her for a moment, before kissing her again.

"Be careful." he said when he pulled back from the kiss.

She smiled.

"Noted."


	18. Part 17

Part 17:

The drive back to Arlington, Virginia was a nightmare. Kae stopped only once to stay the night in some rathole motel (it was even shittier than the ones she and the guys normally stayed at) in Fremont, Ohio before hitting the road again. Going back to Arlington was surreal - she'd been away for so long that it felt strange to go back to where she'd been, well - semi-normal.

Kae pulled into the driveway of her mother's house and put the car in park. She reached into her bag and pulled out the angel blade, tucking it into her jacket before getting out and walking up to the front door.   
  
It wasn't locked.

"Mom?" she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

\---

"You let her go face Anna alone?!"

Sam stared at Dean incredulously. They were leaving town after having killed the Whore of Babylon.

"Yeah. So?" Dean rolled his eyes and turned the key in the ignition. "She's a big girl, Sam. Anna's got her mom - do you expect her to take that lying down?"

"No, but why didn't you tell her to wait? We could've gone with her -"

"She can handle herself."

"And you don't want to go back her up - at all. What's gotten into you?" Sam asked. "Lately if she gets into a bind you're running to her rescue - Oh my God." his eyes widened. "Last night. You came back looking like a kicked puppy. You told her, didn't you? You told her you had feelings for her."

"What?" Dean scoffed. "That's crazy." A lengthy silence ensued as Sam waited for an explanation. "We kissed, alright? I tried to tell her to stay. That's it."

"Mmmhmm."

"Seriously." Dean said, annoyed. "That's all."

"Uh-huh. Okay, fine." Sam pulled out his cell phone. "Her mom lives in Virginia, right?"

"Arlington," was the response. Sam quickly punched a number into his phone and hit the call button. "She's already there by now, Sammy. What good's it gonna do?"

"I'm not calling her," Sam replied as he put his phone to his ear. "How far to Arlington?"

"Couple of days. Maybe less if -"

"Sam?"

Dean swore loudly and Sam nearly hit his head on the ceiling of the Impala. Cas had appeared in the back seat of the car

"Dean pull over." he said abruptly.

Dean glared at him, but did as he asked.

"Anna has Kae's mother, correct?" the angel said. Dean nodded as he put the car in park. "We won't reach her in time - Anna will kill Maxine Thomas and then Kae within the next couple of hours."

"Son of a bitch," Dean breathed. "Cas, we - I have to get there _now_."

Cas nodded and before Dean could do anything, the other man had placed his hand on Dean's shoulder and they both vanished, leaving Sam alone in the Impala.

\---

Kae combed the house looking for any place that Anna could be holding her mom. The last place to check (which she had suspected from the beginning, but had hoped she was wrong) was the basement. She'd been right: Max was tied to a chair in the middle of the basement, her dark hair in disarray, blood coating the right side of her face and matted in her hair.

"Mom!"

Max did not look relieved to see her daughter. "Kae?! What are you doing here?"

Kae moved over to her quickly and began trying to untie her.

"Step away from her, Kae." Anna had materialized in the basement, mere inches from them.

"You let her go," Kae snapped. "She has nothing to do with this!"

Anna shrugged. "She let you live. That's reason enough."

Kae took a step forward, glaring at the angel. Anna was suddenly blasted off of her feet and back into the concrete wall behind her. She got to her feet shakily and extended her hand. Kae concentrated, knowing Anna meant to blast her back. Nothing happened. Kae grinned triumphantly. "Force field. Comes in handy, lemme tell ya."

"But it can't protect her, can it?" A silver angel blade slid out from under the sleeves of Anna's navy trench coat.

Kae let out a cry and tried to blast her again, completely forgetting about her own blade. If she was going to kill Anna, the way to do it was not through a simple blade.

She was going to blast this bitch down into the deepest pit of Hell possible.

It was this that made her lose her focus, and her protection. Another power took hold of her, rooting her on the spot.

_No!_

"Kae!"

And suddenly, she could move again. When she looked for the reason why, she saw Cas and Dean running down the steps and into the basement.

Kae ignored Dean and moved toward her mother, but it was too late. Anna thrust her blade deep into Max's chest. Max let out a strangled cry and slumped forward, blood spreading rapidly over the plain, white t-shirt she was wearing.

Kae felt like something in her had snapped. She dove forward, hand outstretched.

"No!" she screamed, but she didn't get her chance to blast Anna at all. Dean seized the opportunity to grab her around the chest and was dragging her away, back up the steps and into the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cas moving toward Anna, holding a blade of his own. "Lemme go!"

"Kae, she's gone!" Dean cried as he struggled to prevent her from running back into the basement. "I-I'm so sorry, Kae...she's gone."

She turned to face him, her eyes welling with tears.

"She's not gone," she choked out, pulling away from him.

Dean didn't know what else to say. There was no way to make this better - nothing that could bring Kae's mother back.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

"She's not." Kae said adamantly, though her voice broke.

Dean pulled her back into his arms and held her tightly. It was then that she broke completely, sobbing into his shirt. Cas appeared next to them a few minutes later. He gave Dean a small nod, which Dean took to mean that Anna was dead. Good.

"You should uh...you should go." he told Cas. "We'll leave in a minute."

"We - We have to bury them," Kae said suddenly, looking up at Dean as she wiped her eyes on her jacket sleeve. "Dean -"

"We..." As much as it pained Dean to say it, he had to. "Kae we have to leave 'em."

"What? No!" Kae shook her head furiously. "I'm not leaving my mother's body here to rot!"

"We can make an anonymous call or something," he told her. "but there's no way we can bury them here without people seeing - and it's gonna look worse if we carry 'em out the front door in broad daylight." Kae sniffled and looked up at him pleadingly. "Look we'll go find a motel, and I'll make some calls...see if we can get any hunters in the area to take care of them, alright?"

After a moment, she nodded.

"Okay."


	19. Part 18

Part 18:

"How's she doing?"

Dean glanced toward the door that separated his and Kae's rooms. She'd still insisted on separate rooms, and he hadn't wanted to upset her, so he obliged.

"How do you think, Sam? Her mom was murdered in front of her."

He heard Sam sigh on the other end of the phone line. "God..."

"Tell me about it."

"Did Cas...?"

"Yeah." There was a soft knock on the adjoining door. "Hang on a sec." he said as he hurried to open it. Kae stood before him, her hair sopping wet and dripping, a large navy t-shirt practically hanging on her shoulders. "Lemme call you back tomorrow, alright?"

"She's there isn't she." Sam said with a knowing tone. "Tell her I said hey, and that I'm sorry about her mom."

"Will do. Later." Dean hung up his phone and pocketed it before turning his attention back to Kae. "C'mon in."

\---

Kae walked slowly into Dean's room, crossed to the bed, and sat down on the mattress. She didn't seem to care that her hair was dripping water everywhere.

"You're gonna catch pneumonia, you leave your hair like that." he said after a lengthy silence heavy with tension had passed, and went to go grab one of the towels from his bathroom before bringing it back and holding it out to her. The only response he got was her tipping her head forward, so that all of her hair hung down, obscurring her face. He helped her wrap it in the towel. "Sheesh what'd you do, jump in a lake?"

  
  


"It's called a shower." she replied flatly. "I...needed to clear my head. Room's too big and empty over there...and...if Sam's..."

"He won't be here until late morning, sometime in the afternoon at the latest," Dean sat down next to her and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "He says he's sorry about what happened."

"Oh."

"Did you want to stay here?" She thought he was an idiot for asking; It was clear she didn't want to stay in her room alone. Still, it was considerate of him. "If you want, you can have the other bed." he gestured to the empty twin next to the one he'd claimed for himself.

She leaned against his shoulder and smiled a little. "Thank you."

\---

Later, after a pizza Dean had ordered before Kae had come to stay with him had been delivered and more than half consumed, and some chick flick was playing on pay per view (he'd let her pick), Kae was curled up between Dean's legs, her cheek pressed against his chest. She didn't cry - she felt too exhausted for that - but that didn't mean that everything still didn't hurt.

The movie was mostly to blame - predictably it had been some flick where the mom died - but Kae hadn't seen it in ages, so she hadn't remembered that fact.

"It's - It's gonna be okay." she heard Dean murmur. "It's gonna be okay."

\---

  
  
Kae didn't sleep well that night - if at all. Too many nightmares, too much guilt, too much everything. Two hours was the most she was able to get, and that was only after Dean, sensing her distress, crawled into her bed (with her permission of course) and held her. It wasn't much, but she appreciated it all the same.

Sam arrived the next day around one, and he didn't look happy. He hugged Kae and told her he was sorry for her loss. She had nothing to say - even when he told her he'd found two hunters - some guys named Bo and Ray - who'd taken her mother's body and driven it out of the city, burying it in some dense forestry a few miles away from the highway.

They left Arlington within the hour.

\---

"I'm telling you, it was weird - we were outside Cincinnati and Cas had a headache - well I guess it was more of a migraine - and then he just zapped out." Sam kept his voice low as Dean drove, not wanting to disturb Kae, who'd finally fallen asleep when they drove through Lexington.

"He say why?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged. "All he said was 'Something's happening', then nothing." he sighed. "You think it has something to do with Lucifer?"

"I'd be surprised if it didn't." Dean let out a long sigh and glanced at Kae briefly before returning his attention to the road.

Sam's cell rang. "Hello?" his brow furrowed and he ran a hand through his hair. "Cas? Wait man, slow down. What happened?" he groaned. "Son of a bitch. Okay. No take him to Bobby's. We'll be there as soon as we can. Bye." he hung up.

Dean looked at him confused. "What happened?"

Sam sighed.

"The angels - they resurrected Adam."


	20. Part 19

Part 19:

"He say anything?"

"Not a word since he said he wants to talk to Michael."

Dean froze in the doorway of Bobby's study. "Michael? The big dick that wanted to wear me to prom?"

Bobby shrugged. "How many other angels you know named Michael?" he paused. "How's she doin'?"

Dean shrugged. "Sleeping." he shifted his weight and then went back to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge before returning to the study. "We can't let him talk to Michael, Bobby."

Sam glanced at his brother. They'd reached Bobby's sooner than expected, as Dean had punched it on the gas after Cas's phone call to Sam. They hadn't told Kae yet either.

Bobby sighed. "Yeah. I know." he paused. "So what do we do?"

Dean was quiet for a moment. In truth the only plausible answer seemed for him to say yes to Michael. Maybe that way, he could figure something out so Adam could have a life (unless Michael deigned to put him back in the ground), and Sam and Kae would be safe from Lucifer.

"I need some air." he said finally before heading for the front door.

\---

Kae let out a small groan and opened her eyes. She was lying in bed, in Bobby's guest bedroom - at least she was pretty sure it was Bobby's - he'd let her camp out there once a few years back. The weird thing was, she hadn't had a nightmare at all - and she was pretty sure she'd slept the entire trip to Sioux Falls.

It was nice...as long as she didn't think about what had happened over the past few days. She sat up, stretched and got out of bed. She made her way downstairs to find Sam and Bobby in the kitchen. Dean was nowhere to be seen.

Sam smiled at her. "Hey."

Kae nodded. "Hey." Bobby cleared his throat, making her laugh a little as she looked at him. "Hey Bobby."

"I'm real sorry -" he started but she shook her head.

"Thanks...but I don't wanna hear any more sorrys, Bobby." she bit her lip. "You guys seen Dean around?"

"He's out front." Bobby replied. "You hungry?"

She shook her head. "Maybe later."

She hurried from the room.

\---

It didn't take her long to find Dean. He was bent over (Damn that man had a perfect ass) one of the old cars in the salvage yard, but he wasn't trying to fix anything. He was just staring down at the engine.

"Dean?"

He swore loudly as his head came up too quick, knocking against the propped up lid. When she turned around, his scowl was replaced by surprise.

"Kae," he rubbed the back of his head irritably, wincing.

She walked over and lifted a hand to touch the back of his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." he sighed. "You okay?"

Kae was quiet, her fingers threading gently through his hair, trying to soothe the patch he'd hit on the lid. He hadn't hit it hard enough to bruise - at least badly.

"Not really." she hesitated. "What do you remember about your mom?"

He didn't speak at first, and when he did, she heard the evasive tone in his voice. "Not a whole lot. She died when I was four."

"Tell me something...anything."

He smiled sadly. "She...used to make me tomato rice soup when I'd get sick."

She chuckled. "That sounds disgusting."

He laughed. "Maybe I'll make it for you sometime."

"You do, and I'll dump the bowl right over your head."

He snorted. "Your turn."

She was quiet for a moment.

"You know cambion stay in a comatose state until they're around seven, right?" she said.

"Yeah."

"She used to sing a lot around the house...and one of the first things I remember, waking up in the hospital, was her singing. She told me it was _Another Day in Paradise_ by Phil Collins."

"Who?"

She looked at him disbelievingly. "You're kidding me. You don't know who Phil Collins is? Member of the band Genesis? Peter Gabriel? Ring any bells?"

He laughed.

"I'm kidding, of course I know who he is." he said. "but of course nothing beats Metallica."

She pulled a face. "Metallica sucks."

He looked at her in mock indignation. "I did _not_ just hear you say that."

"Sad but true."

"Okay when this is all over, you're going to listen to my Metallica cassette."

"In your dreams, Winchester." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she smiled back at him. "I will listen to one song. One. For you."

He grinned and leaned down to kiss her chastely on the lips. She sighed softly as he pulled back, resting his forehead against hers.

"Awesome."

\---

"So Adam's your half brother?"

"Yeah." Sam looked at Dean who shrugged. He and Kae had rejoined Sam and Bobby in the house to discuss the latest Apocalypse development. Whatever she and Dean had talked about that had led to the two walking back into Bobby's house, hands tangled together and her with a small smile on her face, Sam was grateful for. If Dean kept at it, Kae would - well she'd never get over losing her mother entirely, but he could at least help Kae through the hard part. "He uh...he died last year. Ghoul attack."

"Gross."

"Tell me about it." Dean's grip on her hand tightened. "The angels brought him back. Cas found him and brought him here."

"I don't understand...what do they want with him?" Kae asked. "Aren't you the 'chosen one'?"

He nodded.

"I was, but...I guess they decided differently.

Kae didn't say a word. She leaned against Dean's shoulder and sighed heavily.

"So how do we get him out of this?"

"I tell Michael yes." Dean replied.

Kae yanked her hand out of his grip. "What? No!"

"Kae if I can stop Lucifer -"

"You'll destroy the planet!" she yelled.

"I know that!" he yelled back. "But I can end this before Lucifer gets his hands on Sam - before he finds a way to get to you without your consent!"

"I know you want to protect us, but God - Dean if you do this -"

"Hey if you lovebirds are done, I think you might want to know something important." Bobby interjected. He had just returning from going to check on Adam. "Adam's gone."


	21. Part 20

Part 20:

_"Kae. Kae wake up."_

_When she opened her eyes it was to see a young man with dark hair staring at her. She went to grab her gin, but he stopped her._

_"There's no need for that now," he said calmly. "Not that it would do you much good anyway."_

"I'm asleep."

_"Yes."_

_"Michael?"_   
  
_He nodded._

_"What do you want?"_

_Michael just smiled._

_"Tell Dean it's too late. I've taken Adam Milligan as my vessel."_

_"Then why are you here?" Kae sat up on her bed, staring at the angel intently._

_Michael hesitated._

_"You are needed."_

\---

"Please don't do this."

Dean slung his duffel over his shoulder and slipped a knife into his jacket. He'd snuck out in the early hours of the morning. She knew what he was going to try to do. He was going to try and offer himself up in Adam's place.

"He's family, Kae. I can't let him become an angel's bitch."

"It's too late!" she yelled, trying to grab at the bag and he stepped backward to avoid her. "Michael came to see me while I was asleep! He said he's already taken Adam as his vessel!"

"It's never too late," he responded, voice breaking.

"Dean -"

He shook his head, saying nothing more as he got into the driver's seat of the Impala, started the engine and drove off.

\---

_"And what exactly is it you need me for?" Kae folded her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed as she watched the angel standing before her._

_"I need you to say yes."_

_She felt like shoving a knife deep in his throat - all the years of the angels wanting her dead because she was the one person who could supposedly give birth to the Antichrist, and refusing Lucifer, and now the angels were cool with it?_

_Something was wrong._

_"There's not a chance in Hell or Heaven of that happening." she said coldly. "Why would I say yes anyway? Do you think I want Lucifer's spawn growing inside me?"_

"It would only care Lucifer's power and yours - the child would bear the DNA of you and of Sam Winchester."

_"You're insane - I'm not saying yes." ___

_Michael tilted his head to the side._

"So you don't want to save Dean's life?"

_"What the fuck are you talking about?" she demanded._

\---

The first thing Sam was aware of as he awoke was his own duffel bag hitting him squarely in the face. As the bag fell onto his lap, he looked blearily at his watch: four-thirty in the morning.

_What the hell...?_

"C'mon Sam, can't save him by myself!" Someone tugged at his arm urgently and he looked back up to see Kae glaring at him.

"Kae?" he said sleepily. "God, warn a guy before you throw things at him, alright?" The bag hadn't hurt him, but still - that was not a way to wake someone. "What's going on?"

"Your fucking idiot of a brother just took off," she snapped, "and he's gonna do something really stupid unless we catch up to him and put a stop to it."

"Stupid like...how?" Son of a bitch. He really needed some coffee or something because his mind really wasn't processing what she was telling him.

"Michael," she said impatiently.

That one word worked better than any caffeine ever could - in no time flat, he was up, packed, and following her downstairs.

\---

"I hate this car."

"Well tough. It was one of the few Bobby managed to get working." Sam sighed, keeping his eyes on the road. The beat up, small red '97 Chevy was nowhere near the condition of the Impala, but at least the engine was fully functioning. "We have any idea where Dean was headed?"

Kae shook her head. "No. All he said was that he wasn't going to let Adam become an angel's bitch."

"Well...he can't be far..." Sam glanced out his side window as they drove through town.

"Sam?"

"What?"

She hesitated. "Are you thinking about saying yes to Lucifer?"

He went quiet for a few minutes. "Who told you that?"

"Michael." she glanced at her hands on her lap. "He came to see me in my dreams last night."   
  
Sam's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "I am."

"Sam -"

"What else did Michael tell you?" he interjected.

She didn't answer.

\---

_"What the fuck are you talking about?"_

_Michael watched her closely. "You would do anything to save him, correct? You love him that much?"_

_"I never said I -"_

_Michael grinned._

_"Kae don't lie to me...or to yourself for that matter."_

_Kae rolled her eyes._

_"Just tell me what you're talking about, damn it!"_

_Michael nodded. He touched her arm in what he might have percieved a comforting manner, but it made her skin crawl. She pushed him away, only for him to approach her again._

_"Before you met Dean, Zachariah threw him five years into the future to show him what would happen if he continued to refuse to be my vessel." he reached over and laid a finger on her forehead. "He altered a tiny detail."_

\---

"You're sure this is it?"

"I'm positive." Sam pocketed his cell and got out of the car, Kae following suit. "Well, Cas is sure anyway. Says Michael's blocking him."

"Fuck."

"Yeah." Sam glanced at the Impala, parked a short distance away from an old, rundown factory. "Can I ask you something?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

"After everything that happened with your - with your mom, why come here to save him? I mean, I know you care about him, and I know he feels the same, but -"

"Are we here to save your brother, or are you gonna Dr. Phil me the entire time?" she interrupted before making a beeline for a door on the side of the building. "Let's go."

\---

_Kae shook uncontrollably as the last images fade from her mind and Michael removed his finger from her forehead._

_"I could smite you here and now, you know." he murmured. "But these are orders. If you want Dean to survive confronting me, you'll tell Lucifer yes - you'll let this play out the way destiny has ordained. Otherwise what Zachariah showed him will all come to pass...and you'll never be able to live with all that guilt."_

_"Fuck you." she spat. " The Winchesters will destroy you. You and Lucifer."_

_Michael just smiled and shook his head._

_"They'll just destroy themselves in the process. And then you'll really be screwed, won't you?"_

\---

Kae sucked in a long breath and tightened her grip on the silver blade in her hands. She and Sam moved quickly through a maze of heavy machinery and abandoned crates that held old metal parts.

Then Kae heard something that made her stop in her tracks behind a large stack of crates: gagging. The sound of a foot connecting with ribs. A pained cry.

 _Dean._   
  
Sam turned to her and put a finger to his lips.

"Dean," she whispered. "Sam -"

"Yeah." he acknowledged. "Just stay with me, alright?"

She nodded and the two rounded the crates to see Adam standing over Dean, who was lying in a heap on the cold, concrete floor. He was gasping for air and struggling to get up on his knees.

Adam smiled coldly and looked up at her.

"Hello Kae."


	22. Part 21

Part 21:

"Let him go." Sam snarled.

Adam - no, Michael - Kae corrected herself - shook his head. "He came here of his own free will and attacked me."

"He came here to get Adam back," she retorted.

Michael smiled and shook his head. He grabbed Dean by his hair and pulled him up onto his knees.

"It's like I told you, darling: he's no longer chosen. I'm just making sure he gets the message." his smile became more pronounced at that. "Have you thought anymore about our discussion?"

Kae's expression hardened. "Answer's still no."

"Even after what I showed you?"

Her eyes began to fill with tears. "Michael -"

"Kae what's she talking about?" Dean blinked slowly, disoriented as he tried to focus on her. She figured he might have a concussion or something.

"Shut up Dean." she said abruptly.

"She didn't tell you then - I'm surprised." Michael looked thoughtful. "When Zachariah threw you five years into the future, he left out a very important detail."

"And that was?" Dean asked flatly.

"Samifer over there isn't the one who kills you." Kae could've sworn his grin turned malicious at that. "She is."

Dean frowned and looked over at Kae who shook her head.

"Dean, I saw myself with Lucifer - I saw myself with his son," she swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to keep talking. "Lucifer knew I had only said yes to keep you safe - that I tried to keep Sam from saying yes. And he - he threatened to kill the kid if I didn't. I-I saw your blood on my hands and I felt sick." she felt nauseated. "I would never do that. I couldn't."

Dean's brow furrowed as he stared at her curiously, and Kae wasn't sure if he believed her or not. Then she saw a flash of silver as his hand plunged into the inside pocket of his jacket and he pulled out an angel blade. However, before he could use it on Michael, the angel vanished. Dean swore loudly and threw the blade aside. Sam ran over to him and helped him up onto his feet.

"What now?" he asked.

Dean winced and looked at his brother. His answer was simple:

"Figure something else out."

\---

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't let me finish. You just hotwheeled it out of here before I could tell you everything."

Dean was quiet. He and Kae were in their own motel room, laying in bed. Kae sighed and nestled further into Dean's embrace and felt his lips gently brush against the top of her head.

"Sorry." he said finally.

"Yeah." It was her turn to go quiet. "I would do it, you know."

"What?" he asked.

"Say yes." she whispered. "If it meant you were safe, I would do it in a heartbeat."

His arms tensed where they lay wrapped around her waist. "Kae -"

"Dean." she looked up at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'm not some damsel in distress - and I'm not stupid. We don't have a prayer of stopping Lucifer right now. If I say yes, he'll leave you alone. It'll give you time to figure out how to deal with him."

"I - Kae -" Dean struggled to get out what he was thinking. "Look, you've told that son of a bitch no for years. Don't go throwing all that away for me." he sighed. "Just...think about it, alright?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"Alright."

\---

"I gotta tell ya, Kae - your dreams are really boring."

Kae jolted awake and looked around, swearing loudly when she saw a familiar face standing at the foot of her and Dean's bed.

Speaking of Dean...

"Don't worry 'bout him dollface. He won't wake while I'm here."

She ran a hand through her unkempt hair and sighed wearily.

"Just once can I get through a night without you bastards coming for a visit?" she said with a yawn. "At least you're out of my head and not in it."

"Duh. Why do you think I said your dreams are boring?"

"What the fuck do you want, Gabriel?" she asked exasperatedly.

He put a hand to his heart in mock indignation.

"That hurts, Kae. I thought we were closer than that."

"Keep dreamin' Hot Wings." Kae blinked tiredly. "Tell me what you want or I'm blasting you out of this motel."

Gabriel grinned.

"I actually don't want anything, Kae...except to tell you that the rumor mill's abuzz...and you're gonna want to be far away from here before my brother hears them."


	23. Part 22

Part 22:

"Rumors?" Kae spit out the word through clenched teeth as she got out of bed slowly. It was a really good thing that Dean was asleep. Whatever Gabriel had to say was sure to piss him off. "What rumors have you heard, Gabriel?"

"Oh, you know...you and Deano there romantically linked - let me say I called that a long time ago -"

"Keep talking," she snapped.

He shrugged. "There is that one, you know, about Cas fixing your infertility when he healed you after the whole thing in Carthage."

"I-" Kae's hand flew to her stomach. "That's impossible. Dean told me he said -"

"Oh no, it's possible." Gabriel grinned. "But wait til you hear the real kicker: everyone is already saying you're knocked up with his kid." he nodded at Dean.

"That's not true." Kae fought to keep her anger in check. Who the fuck was starting these kinds of rumors?

Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I know." he said exasperatedly. "Lucifer doesn't, and once he hears it, he's gonna nail Dean - and not in the fun kind of way."

"I'll kill him." she breathed angrily, hands balling up into fists. "I'll fucking destroy him."

"You did _not_ just say that." she strode forward and grabbed him by the throat. "How can I chillax with what you just told me?!"

"Look I didn't come here looking for a fight - I came here to give you a heads up," he gasped as her fingers tightened their grip. It wasn't enough to snap his neck, but definitely enough to begin cutting off his vessel's oxygen supply.

"Who started this?" she demanded.

"Word is one of Crowley's people. I don't know who I swear."

Kae released him and turned away, closing her eyes as she ran her fingers through her hair. The mirror over the sink in the bathroom shattered as her anxiety grew.

"Kae?!" she cried out as a hand touched her shoulder and Gabriel vanished. "Woah. Kae it's alright. It's just me." Breathing heavily, she turned to see Dean staring at her with concern. "What happened?"

Her hands shook as they found his and held on tightly.

"We have a problem."

\---

"Gabriel wa here?" Dean frowned and looked at the warding they'd put up on the motel room walls and down on the carpet. They hadn't warded against angels so Cas could get in if he needed to.

Kae nodded.

"Can you call Cas?" she asked, looking from him to Sam. "I need to talk to him."

The three were seated at the table in Sam's room, him having been awoken by Kae throwing his bag at him again (which caused Dean to go into a fit of laughter).

"Yeah. Why?" Dean asked. Kae didn't answer. "Kae, c'mon - what did Gabriel tell you?"

"You asked for me?"

Cas had materialized in the room next to the table where they were all seated.

"Yeah." Kae glared at him. "When you healed me after Carthage, did you only fix my wounds, or did you also fix my infertility?"

He frowned.

"Why are you asking? You know what I healed that night."

"I know what Dean told me you healed." Kae corrected. "but I just had a talk with one of your brothers. Gabriel." she added seeing his look of confusion. "He said someone - one of Crowley's people - started a rumor that I'm fertile now. So tell me - did you fix my reproductive organs or not?" Silence. "Mmm. Okay. Guys?" she looked at Sam and Dean. "You should clear out - I need to kill an angel."

Dean shook his head.

"Not gonna happen."

"Dean -"

"Kae, we need his help to fix this. You know that."

"What we need to do is get out of here." Kae countered. "because when Lucifer finds out, he's not going to wait for me to tell him that I'm really not pregnant with your kid. Yeah, that's the other rumor going around." she huffed, seeing the incredulous expression on Dean's face. "He's going to kill you."

"He won't." Dean pointed out. "What was it he told you? He wants your happiness? Your consent? He knows if he kills me he's going to get an even bigger no than before."

"That was when I was barren, Dean." she protested. "If I'm able to reproduce now, it's open season on my uterus."

Dean shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Not on my watch, sweetheart."

\---

"Oh my God you drive way too fucking slow!"

"I'm going the speed limit!"

"Speed limit is sixty-five. You're going sixty."

"Fuck you."

"If only, darling." Sam stifled a laugh and twisted around to look at Kae where she sat in the back seat of the Impala. "Sam where are we?" she asked.

"Just outside Muncie, Indiana."

"Any good motels around?" Dean asked wearily. "I need to crash. Like now."

Kae checked her phone and settled down further in her seat to get comfortable. Rain beat down on the car's roof steadily as they drove down the highway, making her feel drowsy.

They'd left Sioux Falls not long after their talk with Cas (much to Dean's chagrin as it had been at five in the morning) and with Sam and Kae switching with him alternatively to drive, they made it to Indiana within twelve hours.

"Kae?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah." Kae yawned and looked at her phone again. "Hotel called The Elysian Fields. Four star. 'Bout ten miles."

Dean shrugged. "Works for me."


	24. Part 23

Part 23:

Kae gasped for breath and pushed long, sopping wet blonde, brown, and red strands of hair behind her ears as she, Dean and Sam ran through the front doors of the hotel. The 'four star' rating on the hotel hadn't been kidding. The Elysian Fields lobby was pretty impressive.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a hotel in my life." Kae squeezed the excess water from her hair, ignoring the look of disgust the concierge, a guy whose name was Chad according to his name badge, gave her.

"Busy night." Dean agreed as they approached the desk.

Chad plastered a smile on his face and slid a paper toward Dean.

"Any port in a storm, I guess." he chuckled. "If you could sign this please."

Dean nodded and picked up the pen lying next to the paper. "Yeah."

Chad frowned. "Sir, I think...shaving nick there." he gestured to the side of Dean's neck. When Kae turned to look, she saw a small cut in Dean's skin. It had been hours since Dean had last shaved. Any cut would have surely clotted by now...right?

She shook off the bad feeling growing in the pit of her stomach and watched as Chad handed them their room keys. All she wanted was food and bed.

"Thanks," Kae said gratefully. "Um...do you have a coffee shop?" The coffe wasn't for her, of course - she knew Sam and Dean were likely to stay up long into the night researching...or at least Sam was.

Chad gestured to a room adjacent to the lobby. "Buffet. All you can eat. Best pie in the tri-state area."

Dean grinned. "You don't say?"

\---

Kae surveyed the two plates of pie Dean had grabbed from the desert table with disgust. "You've got to be kidding me."

He grinned. "Don't go knockin' my pie."

She snorted. "I wouldn't dream of it." She bumped his shoulder playfully with her own before taking her plate back to the table Sam was seated at.

"We should hit the road." he said without looking up when they sat down.

Kae scoffed. "In this storm? I-it's -"

Sam looked up and stared at her with annoyance. "It's biblical. Exactly. It's friggin' Noah's ark out there, and we're eatng pie."

Kae smiled proudly. "I'm not." she gestured to the salad on her plate. "He is." she pointed at Dean.

"That's not my point - It feels like -"

"Bobby's got his feelers out, okay." Dean cut across him. "Nobody's giving up. Especially me. We're gonna find a way to beat the devil, okay? Soon. I can feel it. And we'll find Adam."

Sam was silent. Then he nodded.

"Yeah, okay."

\---

"I'm so fucking tired."

"Join the club," Sam yawned and adjusted his hold on his bag as they made their way down the hall to their rooms.

There was a couple in front of the door of the room next to Sam's, which Kae figured were either just about to have a one night stand, or could just be a married couple. A quick glance at the woman's hand fisted in the guy's suit jacket let her see the ring on the woman's finger. Her second guess had been right.

Sam cleared his throat, and Kae didn't understand why until he elbowed her in the ribs and nodded at Dean. He was grinning at the couple like an idiot. Kae rolled her eyes and slapped the back of his head playfully.

"Ow! What?" he said irritably.

"Are you twelve or something?" she grabbed their room key from him and inserted it in the door lock.

"I'm young at heart," Dean scoffed as she pushed the door open. "Wow look at this." he looked around the room in awe. Kae didn't blame him, she was impressed by the room too - hell forget room it was like a fucking suite.

Her eyes fell on the king sized bed they had.

"Bed." Kae let out a long sigh and let herself flop down on the mattress. The lavender colored duvet was soft against her skin, and the mattress underneath it was pleasantly comfortable. "Dean you're sleeping on the floor. Bed's totally mine."

"You're insane." he laughed as he laid down next to her and gave her a light shove to the left side of the bed. "Holy shit. That's amazing."

She propped herself up on one elbow and grinned at him.

"Told you so." something on the large pillows caught her eye. "Hey check this out - chocolates!"

Dean's head jerked up and he started to reach for the candy, but Kae knocked his hand out of the way.

"No way, D. These are mine." she said before stowing them in her jeans pocket. "Probably left some on your pillow too, Sam - you want 'em?"

Sam shook his head and smiled. "Nah. You go ahead and knock yourself out, Kae."

She grinned and sat up.

"With pleasure."

Suddenly there was a loud crash coming from inside Sam's room. Kae looked at him confused as he ran from the room, Dean scrambling off of the bed and following him quickly. Reluctantly heaving herself up off of the bed, she followed the two.

She found them inside Sam's room, staring at the wall over his bed. The wall looked like it had been smashed through from the other side, knocking a painting that hung over the headboard of the bed onto the mattress, shards of glass everywhere.

"What the fuck?" Kae cried.

\---

Kae sat nervously on one of the plush white couches in the hotel lobby as Sam and Dean approached Chad at the front desk. She glanced around at the people passing through, and could've sworn that a dark haired woman looked at her for way longer than was necessary.

Creepy.

"They checked out." Dean sat down next to her and sighed. "Chad says they left just before we got down here."

Kae frowned.

"That doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it." Sam muttered.

Kae looked from him to Dean. "So what's the plan?"

"We're gonna scope out the joint," Dean told her before looking at Sam. "You keep an eye on Norman Bates over there." he groaned. "One night off. Is that too much to ask?"

Kae smiled grimly.

"Apparently."

\---

"This is nuts. Go get some sleep."

"Yeah right, and end up in the morgue? So not gonna happen." Kae snatched the EMF from Dean, or at least, she tried to. Exhaustion made her movements sluggish and uncoordinated.

Dean rolled his eyes and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.

"You gotta get some sleep sometime, alright?" She smiled tiredly and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah...when this is over, okay?" As they passed one room with the door open, a large mass of gray caught her eye.

She did a double take; what was an _ielephant_ doing in a hotel room? "Dean..."

He turned to look, but saw a large man with a towel around his waist.

"Hey, this ain't no peep show!" he exclaimed angrily before moving to slam the door in their faces.

Dean looked at Kae. "What exactly did you see?"

She stared up at him with wide eyes. "An elephant.' There was a sudden slash of pain across the side of her neck and she inhaled sharply, clapping a hand against her skin.

"Kae?" Concerned, Dean pried her hand off of her neck gently before examing her neck. He saw a small cut, almost identical to the one Chad had pointed out on him when they checked in.

"I'm fine." she told him. "Dean what the hell is going on here?"

"I have no idea." was his response. "C'mon let's go find Sam."

They hurried off down the hall.

\---

Sam stared at Kae like she'd grown an extra head. "An elephant?"

"An elephant." she echoed. "Like full on Babar."

"So what the hell is...where is everybody?" Dean's brow furrowed as he looked around the now empty lobby.

Sam headed for the front doors and tried to open them, but couldn't.

"Let me guess - locked?" Kae leaned against the empty desk heavily, feeling burnt out. She was too fucking tired and whatever this thing in the hotel wanted, whatever it was going to do, she just didn't have the energy for it. Sam nodded. "Son of a bitch."

"Roaches check in, they don't check out?" Dean said.

Sam was quiet for a moment.

"Think about how we got here."

Kae cocked her head to the side. "My directions? Don't go blaming this on me, blame it on Mapquest."

He shook his head. "That detour on I-90. The hurricane?"

Dean frowned.

"You saying we were led here?"

Sam nodded.

"Like rats in a maze."

Kae looked from him to Dean and then at the locked doors before them.

What the hell were they supposed to do now?


	25. Part 24

Part 24:

"This is insane - why would anyone lead us to a hotel?" Kae hissed as she followed Dean and Sam back through the kitchen.

"Who knows? Whoever it is, we probably pissed 'em off," Dean glanced down at a pot full of boiling red liquid. "Please be tomato soup...please be tomato soup." he reached for the ladle and stirred it through the liquid. Two eyeballs bobbed to the surface, making Kae gag. "Motel hell."

Sam, meanwhile, had walked over to the freezer, which had a padlock secured to it. He was trying to get a look inside of it when a hand suddenly slammed against the glass from the other side, and suddenly a man was screaming for them to get him and the others (well that solved the mystery of where the guests went).

He scrambled for his lock pick kit and began trying to unlock it.

"Hurry up!" Dean hissed at him.

Sam looked back at him, annoyed. "I'm going as fast as I..." he trailed off, his eyes flicking to something behind Dean. "...as I can."

Dean was silent for a moment. "There's somebody behind us, isn't there?"

Kae turned abruptly, only to be grabbed roughly by a man in a dark suit.

_Fuck._

\---

Kae fought to keep herself calm as she, Sam and Dean were dragged into the hotel ball room. She saw a bunch of people seated around a set of tables and let out a tiny gasp as she noted the names scrawled on the tags plastered to their chests.

Odin...Kali...Zao Shen...Ganesh.

_Pagans._

One of the gods, a man who didn't have a nametag so Kae wasn't sure which god he was, stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming." he told them. "Although in all my centuries, I never thought I'd see this. This many gods under one roof -"

"We are so screwed." she whispered to Sam and Dean.

Dean nodded silently. Pagan gods were no joke. The only way out of this...well, Kae hoped there was another option besides ending up on someone else's dinner plate.

"-Now before we get down to brass tacks, some ground rules," the male god continued. "No slaughtering each other. Curb your wrath. Oh, and uh, keep your hands off of the local virgins. We're trying to keep a low profile here -"

"What do we do now?" Kae asked Dean softly. He didn't answer.

" - Now we all know why we're here. The Judeo-Christian apocalypse looms over us. I know we've all had our little disagreements in the past." the god told his companions. "The time has come to put those aside and look to the future. Because if we don't, we won't have one." he gestured to Kae, Sam and Dean. "Now we do have three very valuable bargaining chips: Michael and Lucifer's vessels. The prophesied mother of the Antichrist. The question is, what do we do now? Anybody have any bright ideas? Speak up. This is a safe room."

Kae felt Dean's arm wrap securely around hers and when she looked at him, he gave a tiny jerk of his head toward the exit.

"Let's get out of here." he told Sam quietly and the three moved toward the door.

Just as Kae's hand curled around the door handle, there was a loud crash behind them: a chandelier had fallen.

They turned to see Kali staring coldly at them. "Stay." she commanded before turning her attention to the others. "We have to fight. The archangels - the only thing they understand is violence. This ends in blood. There is no other way, it's them or us."

"With all due respect ma'am, we haven't even tried talking to them," Kae's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of Chad the concierge sitting among the gods. How had she not realized he had to have been one of them? She watched as Kali turned her gaze to him and he began to choke up blood.

"Kali!" the leader said with a warning tone in his voice, and Chad's choking stopped.

Kali stared at Chad impassively. "Who asked you?"

"Can't we all just get along?" a new voice interjected, "and Kae didn't know whether to be relieved or pissed off when she saw Gabriel walk into the room.

"Sam! Dean...it's always the wrong place, wrong time with you two muttonheads, isn't it?" he grinned at Kae. "How's it goin', Kae?"

"Loki." Gabriel turned to face the leader god standing next to Kali.

"Baldur." he responded coolly. "Good seeing you too. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail."

"What are you doing here?" Baldur asked impatiently.

"To talk about the elephant in the room. Not you." Gabriel added as Ganesh started to rise from his chair. "The apocalypse. We can't stop it, gang. But," he held up a finger. "First things first." he glanced at Kae, Dean and Sam. "The adults need to have a little conversation. Check you later."

And with a snap of his fingers, they vanished.

\---

The three reappeared in another hotel room. Kae exhaled and looked at Sam.

"Holy crap." she said.

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "So the next time you find a four star hotel in the middle of nowhere, what do you think about just driving by it next time?"

She nodded.

"Next time."

Dean sighed. "Okay so what's our next move?"

"Free the people they've got in the freezer?" Kae suggested. "Kill a few bastards and book it if we're lucky?"

"And when have you ever been lucky?"

"Fuck you, Gabriel," Kae snapped, barely flinching as the archangel joined them.

Gabriel smirked at that. "Maybe later, hot stuff."

Kae lunged at him, only for Sam to grab her around the waist to restrain her. "I should've known - this had your stink all over it from the jump."

He arched an eyebrow. "You think I'm behind this? Please. I'm the Costner to your Houston. I'm here to save your ass."

"You wanna pull us out of the fire?" Dean said incredulously.

"Bingo." Gabriel replied. "Those guys are either gonna dust you, or use you as bait. Either way, you guys are uber-boned."

"Why do you care?" Kae asked bluntly as she shoved Sam's arms off of her.

"I don't." Gabriel scoffed.

"Bull." she spit out.

"Kae -" started Dean, but she held up a hand to silence him.

"Me and Kali...we had a thing." Gabriel admitted grudgingly. "Chick was all hands."

Sam stared intently at him. "Do they have a chance? Against Satan?"

"Really?" Dean asked exasperatedly.

"You got a better idea?" Sam challenged, and Dean didn't answer.

Kae already knew the answer when Gabriel shook his head.

"He's gonna turn them into finger paint," he told Sam. "So let's get going while the going's good."

"Okay great, well then why don't you just zap us out of here?"

"Would if I could," Gabriel shrugged. "Kali. Blood spell. "Y'all are on a leash."

"Great." Kae scoffed. "Just fucking great. What do we do now?"

Gabriel grinned.

"It's time for some ol' black magic." he told her before vanishing.

Kae glanced at Dean.

"We're screwed."

\---

"Okay so we get them out of the freezer...but what then?" Kae asked in a low voice as they hurried into the lobby. The sound of screaming made them turn back and hide behind one of the wall fixtures.  
  
"No!" they heard the man screaming, and Kae could see Odin and Zao Shen throw their victim down onto the front desk before Zao Shen took a cleaver and drove it into his flesh, silencing him.

Kae looked up at Dean, eyes wide.

"We gotta get to the freezer - now." she whispered.

He nodded. The three waited for the pagans to take the body back to the ball room before hurrying back to the kitchen. Sam had his lock pick kit back out in a flash and began trying to pick at the freezer's lock while Dean and Kae kept watch.

Suddenly, Kae felt something grab her by the shoulders and throw her backward, which sent her crashing into metal carts holding pots and pans before she hit the wall and crumpled to the ground.   
  
"Kae!" Dean yelled, but she was on her feet in a flash, throwing him a knife just as Zao Shen, the one who'd thrown her, grabbed Sam by the throat and proceeded to try and strangle him. Dean thrust the blade into his back and he crumpled, which freed Sam.

Three men in suits charged into the room. One grabbed Kae, pinning her arms behind her back as the others grabbed Sam and Dean. The brothers were dragged back toward the ballroom, but the man holding Kae dragged her back to the lobby, where Chad was waiting for them.

"Excellent," Chad said, a small smile forming on his lips as he watched Kae's captor wrestle her onto one of the couches and tie her hands behind her back. "Now if you two will excuse me, I have a call to make."


	26. Part 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : EDIT 9/2/15: I was going back through this fic for inspiration so I could work on Consequences again, and realized that this chapter was missing. Ended up adding it in, but I had to delete the last few chapters, so I'll be adding those back in pronto.

Part 25:  
  
Shit  
  
Shitshitshitshitshit.  
  
Shit.  
  
Kae tugged furiously at the cords binding her wrists. Chad, or Mercury, as she'd heard the others call him before she'd been shoved under the concierge desk, her ankles now bound as well, kicked her and she let out a small squeak of pain.  
  
"It'll be worse if you don't shut up," he warned her. "I have to get back to the others. But just in case..." he bend over her and placed a hand on her forehead.  
  
She tried to speak, but nothing came out.  
  
_No._  
  
And then in the blink of an eye, he was gone. It wasn't long before she heard panicked yelling, the sound of rapid footfalls as people ran by her, and then a voice.  
  
"C'mon everybody, let's go! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"  
  
Dean.  
  
Kae wished desperately that she could call out to him. She considered briefly trying to knock the desk over, but in her current state, she wasn't likely to have any success.  
  
Silence fell on the lobby as the people quickly vacated the building. Kae tried to keep her breathing regular. The key was to stay calm, and just get through this. Before long, Mercury returned, and Kae heard chimes somewhere above her head as someone rang the bell on the desk for service.  
  
"Checking in," an eerily familiar voice said.  
  
Kae felt her stomach twist uncomfortably.  
  
Lucifer.  
  
"Lucifer," Mercury said pleasantly. "Thanks for coming."  
  
"Oh you did right by calling me," Lucifer replied easily.  
  
"It's just..." the pagan hesitated for a second. "The way the talk is heading in there, it's...It's insane." There was another brief pause, and then suddenly, she was being grabbed and hauled upright by him. "I...I thought maybe we could figure a way to end it. Maybe a deal?"  
  
Lucifer's face remained impassive, but it still made Kae sick as his eyes roved over her body, the way they lingered on her disheveled hair, the cuts on her face and neck, and her bound arms.  
  
"And you thought that Kae would make a good bargaining chip?" he asked softly, and though his tone was nonchalant as he reached over to touch her cheek, she could hear the dangerous note in it.  
  
"Well I...she is...the one - "  
  
He was cut off as Lucifer withdrew his hand from Kae's face and twisted it in mid air. At the same time, Mercury's neck broke, and he fell to the floor dead. Kae, who was still bound by both ankle and hand, grew unsteady without the support, and slumped forward on the desk, eyes wide with terror as Lucifer grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up and over the desk.  
  
A quick snap of his fingers and the ropes binding her vanished, and her voice was restored.  
  
"Much better, don't you think?" he asked, smiling at her. Combined with the grotesque appearance of his vessel (she recalled something she'd heard a while back about some humans not being able to contain angels in their bodies), it terrified her.  
  
"I -"  
  
She didn't get to finish speaking as Lucifer suddenly placed a hand on her belly and closed his eyes. There was a brief flash of light and she stumbled back, only for him to grab her by the arm and pull her against him.  
  
"Don't worry," he assured her. "That wasn't to hurt you. I just needed to check whether those rumors were correct, and they're not. Remind me to thank Castiel the next time I see him - he uncomplicated my job for me."  
  
"You still need my consent," she managed to croak.  
  
Lucifer just grinned.  
  
"All in good time." he said. "Now what do you say, we go have some fun hmmm?"  
  
He tugged her off down the hall toward the ballroom.  
  
\---  
  
"You didn't see Kae at all?"  
  
Dean shook his head and looked at Kali.  
  
"Where'd they take her?"  
  
"How would I know?" she asked flatly. "She was with the two of you. We sent our men - Oh."  
  
Baldur looked over at her, his expression indiscernable. "Kali?"  
  
"Mercury," she breathed in realization. "You know him as Chad." she explained when Sam and Dean looked at each other confused. "He took her."  
  
"Why?" Dean demanded.  
  
"Attempt to strike a deal with Lucifer," Baldur said slowly, putting the pieces together. "Exchange her for stopping the apocalypse."  
  
"Handing her over wouldn't stop it," Dean snapped. "'Prophesied mother of the Antichrist', remember?"  
  
Suddenly the room shook and the lights overhead and at the bar in the back of the ballroom flickered. Sam looked at Dean anxiously as screams from the hallway reached their ears.  
  
"It's him," Sam said.  
  
"Zap us out of here," Dean cried, but Baldur shook his head no.  
  
"We can't." he said.  
  
"Of course you can't," Lucifer walked into the room, covered in blood, his hand clamped around Kae's forearm as he dragged her alongside him. She was covered in more blood than he was. "You didn't say 'Mother, may I?'" his eyes flicked to the brothers where they stood behind Baldur as he advanced toward the devil. "Sam, Dean, good to see you again. You miss her?" he let go of Kae's arm. "She's been having so much fun with me. You want to see some of it? It's plastered all over the hall. Blood and guts do make for good art." he sighed. "But I guess you can have her back."  
  
He gave Kae a push forward and she stumbled before falling to her knees. Dean moved quickly to help her up.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered pleadingly to him as he led her over to Sam. "I'm sorry, he threatened to kill you if I didn't kill them, and I couldn't -"  
  
"We'll talk about it later," he promised. "Later."  
  
They returned their attention to the exchange between the two pagans and Lucifer. Baldur was advancing toward Lucifer.  
  
"Baldur don't -" Kali cried, but it was too late.  
  
"You think you own the planet?" Baldur challenged, "What gives you the right - ?!"  
  
Lucifer silenced him by thrusting his hand straight through Baldur's chest. Kae turned away from the sight of his bloody arm and vomitted. Sam quickly stepped backward to avoid getting any of the mess on him. When Kae looked up again, she saw Lucifer pull his arm from Baldur's body and saw it collapse at his feet.  
  
Kali didn't move. Flames began to appear up her arms, and when she lifted one, projected the inferno toward Lucifer. It didn't do much good, as the flames ricocheted off of his vessel's body. Kae, Dean and Sam dove for cover behind an overturned table.  
  
"You okay?" Dean asked Kae loudly over the roar of the flames.  
  
"Not really," a different, but familiar voice answered. When Dean rolled over to see who it was, he saw Gabriel there with them. "Better late than never, huh?" he commented as he thrust a DVD case into Dean's arms, his expression serious. "Guard this with your life." he said before rushing to defend Kali, who now lay on the floor with Lucifer standing over her, about to put his foot straight through her chest.  
  
An invisible force knocked Lucifer backward, and when he got to his feet he saw Gabriel standing in front of Kali, angel blade drawn.  
  
"Luci," he quipped. "I'm home."  
  
\---  
  
Lucifer got to his feet slowly and then advanced toward Gabriel, who had helped Kali to her feet. He held his blade in front of him in a show of defense.  
  
"Not this time," he told Lucifer. "Guys?" he called to Sam and Dean, who slowly emerged from behind their makeshift shield. Kae followed suit reluctantly."Get her out of here."  
  
Gabriel moved with them as they headed for the door with Kali, knife still at the ready.  
  
"Gabriel," Kae stopped at the doorway, and looked at him with an odd expression on her face.  
  
Gabriel just smiled.  
  
"I know." he stated simply. "Sam?"  
  
With a tug of her arm, Sam pulled her into the hall and they took off at a run for the lobby, ignoring the carnage Lucifer had used Kae to create.  
  
"I'm not getting in that thing," Kali snapped when they got to the parking lot and found the Impala where they'd left it.  
  
"Just get in the damn car, Princess," Dean snapped as he and Sam got into the car and Dean put the key in the ignition and turned it. He had started to back the car out of the space when Kali cleared her throat.  
"What?!" Dean snapped, looking at her reflection in the rear view mirror with annoyance.  
  
"Forget someone?" she asked coolly, gesturing to the window.  
  
Dean frowned but looked and immediately felt like an idiot. Kae was still standing out in the parking lot, staring blankly at the car. Dean put it in park and got out.  
  
"Kae?" he said hesitantly, unsure if he should touch her. "Kae, we gotta go."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Go...yeah. Okay." she said, sounding dazed, but she got into the car, and Dean followed suit before they sped out of the parking lot and down the highway.  
  
\---  
  
They drove Kali to the outskirts of town where she vanished, and Sam decided it was time to see what was so important about the DVD Gabriel had given them. Kae, after some coaxing from Sam, left the car (she'd spent most of the drive in silence) and waited with Dean as Sam got out his laptop, turned it on, and popped the DVD in.  
  
He looked skeptically at Dean as a porno began to play. "Gabriel wanted you to protect this?"  
  
Dean shrugged. "Maybe he's a fan. It is a good one."  
  
Kae rolled her eyes and, against her better judgement, returned her eyes to the screen. She didn't understand why Gabriel would want them to protect a porno either - until she saw him on the screen.  
He grinned at the camera. "Sam, Dean, Kae. You're probably wondering what the hell is going on here." The woman in the film tried drawing his attention back to her, but pouted when she was unsuccessful and grabbed a magazine before sitting on the bed and reading it. "If you're watching this, then I'm dead."  
  
Kae made a choking noise.  
  
"I knew it," she said hoarsely. "I knew - Son of a bitch!"  
  
"Without me, you've got zero chance of stopping Lucifer." Gabriel continued. "Sorry! But," he leaned closer to the camera, "you can trap him. The cage you sprung him from? It's still down there. And maybe, just maybe, you can shove his ass back in."  
  
"Oh my God." Kae breathed. Trapping Lucifer? Hell to the fucking yes. But how?  
  
"...and here's the big secret, that even Lucifer himself doesn't even know." Gabriel said seriously. "The key to the cage? It's out there. Actually, it's keys. Plural. Four keys. Well...four rings. From the Horsemen. You get 'em all, you got the cage. Can't say I'm betting on you guys, but hey, I've been wrong before...And Dean? You were right." Both Kae's and Sam's heads turned to look at Dean as Gabriel spoke. "I was afraid to stand up to my brother. Not anymore." he got up off of the bed and the woman, her magazine now cast aside, moved up behind him. "And this is me lying down.  
  
"Yeah, I think you can shut that off now," Kae said, staring pointedly at the ground as the porno returned to, well, sex. Sam practically slammed the lid on his laptop shut. "So...the Horsemen."  
  
"Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse," Dean responded. "War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death. We've only got War's."  
  
Kae stared at him like he'd grown an extra head.  
  
"The fuck do you mean, you only have War's ring?" she glared at him. "What about Famine? Where's he at?"  
  
Sam sighed. "We dunno. Everything got crazy after Carthage. Then Martin called and, well...yeah."  
  
Kae breathed heavily through her nose. "Three rings to go then." she muttered. "I can get us Famine's, I think....might even be able to swing Pestilence while I'm at it."  
  
It was their only option, and she didn't want to deal with Crowley at all, but it seemed like they didn't have a choice.  
  
Dean arched an eyebrow as Sam looked at her uncertainly. "How?"  
  
Kae smiled grimly.  
  
"Wait here," she said before disappearing.


	27. Part 26

Part 26:  
  
Summoning rituals were easy.  
  
Sure they were a bitch to prepare for, but they were easy to complete.  
  
"Alright, Crowley," Kae muttered, dropping the lit match into the bowl on the floor. "You get your ass here quick, and I won't put you through a shredder."  
  
"My my, feisty aren't we?" the familiar, British accented voice echoed dimly through the Elysian Fields hotel lobby, noe back to its original, decrepit state. When Kae looked up from the bowl, the demon Crowley stood before her. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Kae?"  
  
She stood up and looked him in the eye. "The Horsemen's rings. I need both Pestilence's and Famine's."  
  
He arched an eyebrow. "And why would you possibly think that I could get them for you?"  
  
"Because of your previous offer," she said patiently. "Before Carthage. You said I'd have protection against Lucifer. Word on the grapevine is Cas untied my tubes. That means it's a free for all on my reproductive organs. I can't let that happen. I can't let Lucifer..." she trailed off and took a step forward. "Look, you give me Famine and Pestilence, and I'll take your protection."  
  
Crowley just smiled and held out his hand. One ring lay in the center of his palm. "No. I'll give you Famine's. You and the boys are on your own for Pestilence." he paused. "The offer for protection is over."  
  
"Then why the fuck did I even bother summoning you?" she lifted the demon killing knife that Sam and Dean always carried with them. She was sure they'd kill her for swiping it from Dean's jacket, but it was necessary. "Either you can help, or you can't, or you can make a deal. I mean what is it going to cost, hmm? My soul?"  
  
Crowley shook his head.  
  
"No. I don't want your soul. I don't want anything from you."  
  
"Liar." she accused.  
  
Crowley sighed. "How is it not obvious to you, Princess? Woah. Easy." he said as she slashed at him with the knife, missing as he retreated backward. "I make any sort of deal, do anything that displeases Lucifer and my ass is on the chopping block."  
  
"You're a coward, you know that?" she told him.  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"How else could I have stuck around for so long?"  
  
Kae stared at him for a moment, and then pocketed the knife.  
  
"I'm not stupid, you know." she said. "I know you won't give me Famine's ring for free."  
  
"Well, you're right about that." Crowley let out a groan. "There is something I want from you."  
  
"I knew it." she scoffed. "What is it?"  
  
Crowley grinned.  
  
\---  
  
"You think she made a deal?"  
  
"I know she did. Why else would she go meet the bastard alone?"  
  
"Dean -"  
  
"I don't like this."  
  
"I know you don't. I don't either." Sam checked his watch. "She's been gone for almost an hour."  
  
Dean leaned against the side of the Impala and stared at the ground. A seriously bad feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach. Sure he knew Kae could handle Crowley, but this was different. She was different.  
  
Suddenly, something hit him on the side of his head and fell to the ground. He bent over and picked it up, staring at it in bewilderment. It was a ring. "What the hell...?"  
  
Sam shoved him and Dean looked up to see Kae stalking toward them. She looked angry. Combined with the dried blood that still clung to her hair, body, and clothing, it made her look downright terrifying.  
  
"Kae?" Sam said tentatively.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"That's Famine's ring." she spit out. "Crowley'll help with Pestilence. Says he'll be in touch soon." And with that, she shoved Sam aside and climbed into the back of the car.  
  
Dean looked at his brother confused.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
Sam sighed in resignation.  
  
"Nothing good."  
  
\---  
  
Kae didn't speak to them at all during the drive. She stared out of the window at the scenery passing by, and unless Sam asked her something, kept silent. Even then, she didn't say much. Dean had determined that going to Nevada was their best bet, due to an outbreak of swine flu.  
  
In a town just over the Nevada border, Henderson, they stopped for the night and booked two rooms at the first motel they could find.  
  
"Alright, I've had it." Dean had spent over an hour dealing with an awkward silence between the three of them. Sam looked up at his laptop nervously at his brother's declaration and began packing up to head over to his own room. Neither Kae nor Dean noticed  
  
Kae slammed one of the books she'd been using for research shut. "Had it with what?"  
  
"What'd Lucifer do to you at the Fields?" he countered. "Other than killing the pagans?"  
  
"None of your fucking business." she snapped.  
  
"Oh please so am I supposed to believe you two just had tea time in the lobby or some other bullshit?" he exploded. "Kae look, I - Just tell me what he did. Please."  
  
"No." Kae said icily. "Drop it, Dean. Just drop it."  
  
"I can't stay out of it, and you know that! Whatever he did..."  
  
"He checked to see if I was pregnant!" she cried finally. "I...he put his hand on my stomach, and I - God, I could _feel_ him, Dean. His presence, I mean." she gulped, "Do you have any idea how that made me feel?"  
  
Dean found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't begin to imagine how violated Kae probably felt by Lucifer's actions. Kae slumped over on the table, buried her face in her arms, and began to cry. Dean slowly sat down in the chair next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. It took a few minutes, but then Kae sat up and turned to him, her expression pleading. He nodded and she all but fell into his arms. Dean said nothing, but wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.  
  
"He uh...he didn't...?" Dean said after a while. He didn't want to ask her, but he felt he needed to know.  
  
"No." she answered, sniffling as she sat up. "Consent, remember?...And even if I did, he wouldn't do anything unless he was in his true vessel."  
  
Dean waited until she'd completely calmed down to ask his next question.  
  
"How'd you get Famine's ring from Crowley?" Was it his imagination or did she look guilty? "You made a deal, didn't you?" Silence. "Son of a bitch -"  
  
"He doesn't own my soul," she assured him. "I'm not going to hell. Relax." she took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "but I did have to give him something to get the ring, and his help with Pestilence."  
  
"What's that?" Dean asked, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.  
  
She sighed.  
  
"When this is all over? My services as his personal assassin."


	28. Part 27

Part 27:  
  
Dean stared at her in shock.  
  
"You didn't. Kae - Why would you - how could you -?"  
  
She shrugged. "We need Lucifer in that Cage. I didn't see another option." she got up and went over to her bed, sat down on the mattress and picked up her brush where it lay on the bedside table. "I tried to take him up on the contraception deal he tried to sell me on before Carthage, but he wouldn't do it."  
  
"Kae -"  
  
"He promised you wouldn't get hurt," she said earnestly as she brushed her hair. "If I kill off demons that are threats to him, he'll make sure -"  
  
"Damn it Kae!" Dean said angrily, shoving his bag off of the table as he got to his feet. "I told you -"  
  
"I know what you told me. You told me to make decisions based on my own needs and not to do it to save you. Funny enough, you fall under both those categories, so sorry about your luck." she took a shaky breath and crawled into bed. Good night."  
  
\----  
  
The next day, they headed for a hospital west of Henderson that was dealing with part of the swine flu epidemic. Kae held her mask to her face and watched as Sam and Dean spoke quietly with one of the doctors.  
  
"Well?" she said when they walked back over to her.  
  
"They went from having zero cases to over seventy - in a day in a half," Sam informed her.  
  
"Same time those statues started crying." Kae frowned. "Damn it."  
  
"I'm sorry what was that?" the doctor Sam and Dean had been speaking to had overheard their conversation.  
  
Dean stared right back at her. "What was that?"  
  
She looked at Kae.  
  
"Did you just say a bunch of statues started crying?" she asked.  
  
"What?" Kae asked, arching an eyebrow. "That's crazy."  
  
"Who would say that, huh?" Dean added. "Crazy people."  
  
"Exactly." Sam nodded.  
  
"Which we are not." Kae said quickly.  
  
She was pretty sure that all three of them were holding their breaths in anticipation as they waited for whether or not the doctor would buy their story.  
  
Finally she just rolled her eyes and sighed. "Just get us more vaccines."  
  
\---  
  
"Lemme guess: another steamin'-hot pile of swine flu."  
  
"Nothing gets by you, does it Bobby?" Kae said dryly. They were back on the road and leaving town. Dean had called Bobby to give him an update, and now had him on speaker phone.  
  
"Doesn't make any sense, Bobby." Sam said. "Pestilence touched down here, I'm sure of it."  
  
"But why is he dealing them soft serve like swine flu when he's got the croatoan virus up his sleeve?" Dean questioned. "I-I-I don't get it."  
  
"Doesn't matter what the sick son of a bitch is doing," Bobby replied, "What matters is this is the fourth town he's hit - That we know of - and we're still eating his dust. Did you guys get anything? We got even a snowball at a probable next target?"  
  
"Uh, no pattern we can see," Kae said reluctantly.  
  
Bobby sighed. "Okay. Hold on." pause. "Well as far as I can tell, he's still heading East. So...head East, I guess."  
  
"East?" Sam and Dean said in unison.  
  
"Bobby we're in Western Nevada. East is practically all there is." Kae said with a sigh.  
  
"Yeah, well, you better get drivin'."  
  
"Say I've got an idea." Kae and Sam both swore loudly as Dean momentarily lost control of the car, swerving toward the side of the road before he slammed on the brakes.  
  
It was Crowley.  
  
Kae quickly pulled the demon knife out again and lunged at the demon, only for him to disappear from the seat next to her.  
  
"Did you get him?" Dean asked angrily as he put the car into park and the three got out.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"He's gone."  
  
He nodded at the knife.  
  
"You wanna tell me how you swiped that off of Sam?"  
  
Kae shrugged.  
  
"Use your imagination."  
  
"Attempting to kill your new boss, Kae," Crowley had reappeared near the trunk of the car. "That's not going to look very good on your resume, I'm afraid."  
  
"I think I can live with it." Kae hissed. "What do you want?"  
  
"To talk." Was the answer. Kae snorted, her expression skeptical as she handed the knife back to Sam. Bad idea though, she realized as Sam stalked toward Crowley with the knife raised.  
  
"You want to talk?" he demanded. "After what you did to us?"  
  
Crowley looked indignant at that. "After I - what I did to you?! I gave you the Colt!"  
  
"And you knew it wouldn't work against the devil!" Dean snapped. "You nearly got some good people killed!"  
  
"I never -"  
  
"You set us up," Kae snarled.  
  
Crowley sighed exasperatedly. "Who you take on the ride is your own business! Look, everything is still the same - we're all still in this together."  
  
Sam scoffed. "Sure we are." he lunged at Crowley with the knife again, only for Crowley to teleport a few feet away from him.  
  
"Call your dog off - please." he requested.  
  
Dean glared at him.  
  
"Give me one good reason."  
  
"Pestilence?" Crowley looked from Kae to Dean. "Didn't my new little pet tell you -"  
  
"Don't call her that!" Kae laid a hand gently over Dean's shoulder at his outburst. She didn't try to restrain him, should he want to charge the demon, but hoped it sent the message that she was giving him her support. And if it sent the message that he shouldn't kill Crowley that was cool too. They did still need the demon after all. "What do you know about Pestilence?"  
  
"I know how to get him. That's got your interest, doesn't it?"  
  
Silence. Sam looked over at Kae and Dean, who were staring at Crowley in a resigned manner.  
  
"Are you actually listening to this?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"Sam -" Dean started, but Sam interrupted him.  
  
"Are you friggin' nuts?!"  
  
"Sam like it or not we need him -" Kae tried to explain, but then Crowley interrupted her.  
  
"Shut up all of you!" he barked, and they rounded on him. "Look...I swear...I thought the Colt would work. It's an honest mistake. It's all part of the learning process. But nothing's changed. I still want the devil dead. Well," he ammended, "one thing's changed: now the devil knows I want him dead. Which by the way makes me the most buggered son in all of creation."  
  
Kae rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, I missed the part where we're supposed to give a damn?"  
  
"They burned down my house!" Crowley exploded. "They ate my tailor! Two months under a rock, like a bloody salamander! Every demon on Hell and Earth's got his eyes out for me! And yet...here I am...Last place I should be - in the road, talking to you lot under a friggin' spot light!" The light overhead went out in a burst of sparks at his words. "So come with me. Please. Do you want the horsemen rings or not?" He grinned when none of them answered. "Shall we?"  
  
\---  
  
_"You want me as your personal attack dog?" Kae scoffed. "You're crazy."_  
  
_Crowley rolled his eyes. "Maybe, but if you want Dean to survive this - if you want any kind of protection, this is how we're going to do it. Last chance."_  
  
_"Okay. Fine."_  
  
_Crowley grinned and passed her a file. She looked at him in bewilderment._  
  
_"What the fuck is this? I'm not killing for you until we get Lucifer back in the cage." she said_.  
  
_Crowley shrugged. "Call it unofficial training. You're going to interrogate this one. He's Pestilence's right hand man."_  
  
_"Why can't Sam or Dean handle it? Why me?"_  
  
_"Dean would rip him to shreds in a second, and Sam - well let's just say they've got his story."_  
  
_Kae frowned._  
  
_"What kind of history?"_  
  
\---  
  
"This is crazy."  
  
"Yes. And I'm doing it." Kae responded. "I don't need either of your permission." she held up her hand as Sam opened his mouth to argue further. "So either give me the keys to the Impala, or I'll just hotwire a random car I find down the street."  
  
Sam rounded on Dean. "You can't possibly be okay with this?"  
  
"Why do you think I'm not givin' her the keys?" Dean snapped at him. "Kae, there are other -"  
  
"Oh wait, I'm sorry, is there some other option you two didn't tell me about, because that would be fucking great."  
  
"Okay just shut up all of you!" Crowley had joined them. "Look if you want Pestilence then I take Kae and we go and get him and bring him back."  
  
"No!" Sam shouted. Dean was silent as Sam turned to him. "Dean?" No response. "You can tell me that you're suddenly okay with this?!"  
  
Dean shrugged. "Kae's right. She doesn't need my permission, and she doesn't need yours. And how else are we gonna nab the son of a bitch?" he sighed. "Give the demon knife back." Sam didn't move. "Sammy. C'mon."  
  
After a moment or two, Sam grudgingly walked over to Kae and handed her the demon knife.  
  
"Thanks, Sam." she said, patting him on the arm. When he didn't respond, she walked over to Dean.  
  
"Be careful." he told her.  
  
She smiled.  
  
"No car keys?"  
  
"Like I'm gonna let you take my car alone," he scoffed.  
  
"Asshole." She rolled her eyes. "I'll be back as soon as I can."


	29. Part 28

Part 28:  
  
"Okay, so where we headed?" Kae slipped into the driver's seat of an old, beat up truck that she'd managed to find up the road. Crowley stood outside the passenger side door, staring at it in disgust. "Oh I'm sorry, were you expecting a Mercedes? Just get in already."  
  
"Niveus Pharmaceuticals," he snapped at her as he got into the car. "Step on it."  
  
Kae rolled her eyes and hotwired the engine. "Okay, here's a little tip: we did not seal the fucking deal here, so if you're gonna be a dick, I'll go by myself."  
  
"Yes, but our deal for after you trap Lucifer was sealed." Crowley's lips curled into a smug little smile. "Tell me, who's a better kisser - me or Squirrel?"  
  
"Fuck you."  
  
"I'd rather not."  
  
Kae slammed her foot down on the gas and they took off. "You told me this demon and Sam had a history. Fill me in. Now."  
  
\---  
  
"Would you stop worrying? She can handle Crowley."  
  
"It's not Crowley that worries me." Dean retorted as he collapsed in an empty chair, beer in hand. "It's Lucifer finding out she's handling Crowley that worries me."  
  
Sam sighed exasperatedly. "I don't think -"  
  
"If he doesn't know by now, he will soon," Bobby pointed out, "and he'll take it out on Kae."  
  
"Exactly." Dean said. He stared at his brother intently. "I don't get why you're not worrying lie we are."  
  
Sam sighed and leaned over Bobby's desk, flipping a page in the book of lore he was examining. "I guess I don't see this as a problem."  
  
"What do you mean, you don't see it as a problem?"  
  
Sam shrugged.  
  
"She has powers that match his own, maybe even stronger than his." he said. "What, you don't trust her?"  
  
"What? No, of course I do, but....she's working with a demon." Dean countered. "That doesn't work out so well for us."  
  
"Wow, gee thanks." Sam said sarcastically, eyes narrowed. "Drive that knife in a little deeper, why don't you?"  
  
"Sam -"  
"No." Sam said bluntly. "I think she knows what she's doing."  
  
\---  
  
"This sucks."  
  
"What? You want to be convincing, don't you?"  
  
"I'd be convincing in regular clothes. This is ridiculous." Kae looked down at the black dress she was wearing: it was strapless and hugged her curves perfectly, the hem coming down to just above her knees. She was itching to kill Crowley just for having her waste precious time to buy the damn thing - but that would happen after she burned the dress and destroyed the black pumps she had on; her feet were killing her.  
"Look, the point is to sell him, then interrogate him. Killing comes later." Crowley explained patiently. "You can change when we get back."  
  
Kae rolled her eyes and lifted the binoculars hanging around her neck up to her eyes.  
  
"Damn it," she muttered, spotting the security guard seated at his desk. "Demons?"  
  
Crowley shook his head. "Human shields. Demons are up top - twelfth floor."  
  
She sighed in frustration. "Alright, then. We'll have to find a way in through the back."  
  
Crowley rolled his eyes. "Do you have to make everything so complicated?" he said exasperatedly before disappearing from her side and reappearing inside the building.  
  
Kae swore silently as she watched him slit the throat of the security guard. "Shit." She was out of the car in seconds, walking as fast as the heels on her feet would allow across the parking lot before she reached the front doors of the building.  
  
"Door's open," Crowley called calmly as she stood impatiently in front of the glass doors. "What?" he said once she'd entered, still staring at him in shock.  
  
"You killed him?" she managed to say.  
  
Crowley shrugged. "We're on a tight schedule. Come on." he gestured toward the elevator, but Kae didn't move. "Now you're squeamish? Please."  
  
Kae flinched and followed him to the elevator. When it opened, she stepped inside, but Crowley didn't.  
  
"Go get 'em, Kitten," he quipped as the doors began to close.  
  
Kae flung out her arm in a flash and grabbed at one door, which stopped it from closing momentarily.  
  
"You're not coming?!" she asked.  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"Oh no. It's not safe up there. There's demons."  
  
She glared at him. "Yeah. I get that."  
  
"Look, just do what I told you, a-and try to be convincing," he instructed before taking her hand and pulling it off of the elevator door. "It'll work like a charm. Trust me."  
  
\---  
  
It didn't take Kae long to get through to the executive office once she'd reached the twelfth floor. The demon body guards that were stationed there were a piece of cake to take care of.  
  
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. A man was sitting at the desk, looking over some files. He looked up at her and grinned.  
  
"Kaelyn Thomas," he greeted, eyes clouding over with black briefly before going to normal again. "Don't you clean up nice?" she didn't respond. "No appointment?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"Kind of an eleventh hour thing, Brady."  
  
His grin faded at that.  
  
"You know who I am?"  
  
It was Kae's turn to grin as she advanced, lifting her knife and showing him the bloodsoaked blade.  
  
"I know all about you - well, not Brady per se, but I digress." She sat down in the chair in front of his desk. "I know you were part of a demon named Azazel's army, and that you came to Stanford University in Brady's body to manipulate Sam Winchester. You introduced him to his girlfriend Jessica Moore, and you also killed her, making it look like your boss did the same thing he did to Mary Winchester decades ago." her smile thinned out at the astonished look on his face. "I had a very thorough teacher bring me up to speed." she placed the knife on the desk, but kept her hand on the hilt.  
  
Brady shook himself and his face turned impassive. "So...down to business?" he asked and she felt a brief jolt of pleasure at the nervous tone of his voice. "What can I do for you?"  
  
Kae leaned forward and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She saw his eyes drift briefly to her chest (Pervert, she thought briefly) before rising to settle on her face again.  
  
"It's more about what I can do for you," she replied.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Dean and Sam killed one of your brothers," Kae said abruptly. "I don't know about the other, but I assume Crowley killed him, seeing as he gave me the ring. We're keeping them," she added. "That's why I'm here." she took a deep breath. "I heard some folks say you wanted them back, and you were willing to pay."  
  
Brady's eyes narrowed. "Where are they?"  
  
"Not here." Kae told him. "But you want them, you'll come with me - nice and civil," her grip on the knife tightened, " - We'll get out of your little bat cave and we'll discuss a transaction."  
  
"Who says I want them?" Brady asked casually.  
  
That caught her off guard. "What?"  
  
"Who - says - I want them?" he repeated, getting slowly to his feet.  
  
"I told you," she said, "Folks."  
  
Brady chuckled at that.  
  
"See War and Famine, even if I could cram the rings back on their bony fingers - yeah they're not dead, but they might as well be without their rings," he added, as he walked around the desk and stood in front of her, seeing the surprise on her face, "They're withered husks right now - Fetal position on the floor - All thanks to the Winchesters and that good for nothing son of a bitch Crowley." Without warning he grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up and out of her chair. "So I don't want the rings. What I want is retribution. And I'm gonna rip it right out of your ass!"  
  
Kae gasped for air as Brady's fingers tightened, and then she felt herself smashing through the doors of his office as he threw her through them. She landed in a crumpled heap next to one of the demons she'd killed earlier.  
  
"This is so good," she heard his chuckle as his foot connected with her side. "Therapeutic, for sure. You know, Kae. I really owe you one, sweetheart. I feel," he kicked her again, laughing at the groan that came out of her mouth, "so much," another kick, "better!"  
  
Get up. C'mon, Kae. Don't let him get the better of you. Get to the ground floor. Come on.  
  
She took a deep breath and then kicked out at Brady, successfully sweeping his feet out from under him and knocking him to the ground. It gave her the opportunity to scramble back to the elevator and frantically close the doors before hitting the ground floor button.  
  
Kae took the brief reprieve from the fight to remove the heels from her feet and then bolted from the elevator the second the doors opened again.  
  
"Good meeting, Kae. You know, I'm excited."  
  
 _Fuck._  
  
He'd gotten down there ahead of her. Just fucking great. She turned around, breathing heavily, just in time to see Crowley throw a cloth sack over Brady's head. It had a Devil's Trap drawn on it.  
"Took you long enough," he snapped. "Shall we?"  
  
\---  
  
"So how'd it go?"  
  
"Fine, considering Crowley's a jackass who kept me misinformed and nearly got me killed," Kae set her phone on speaker and tossed it onto the empty passenger seat next to her.  
  
"I'll kill him."  
  
In the rear view mirror, she saw Crowley rolling his eyes at the comment before she returned her gaze to the road.  
  
"Dean. Relax, alright? We got him."  
  
She heard him sigh in relief at that, and her eyes flicked to the rearview mirror again. Crowley was carving something into Brady's chest.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" she cried.  
  
"Calm down - extra insurrance to make sure he can't escape." he glanced at the window. "Don't take I-50. We want 93 North."  
  
"I told you that's not gonna happen." she retorted, "Dean we're headed back to you - but you have to listen to me right now - keep Sam away from this guy, alright?"  
  
"Why?" Dean asked. She didn't answer at first. "Kae?"  
  
She took a deep breath.  
  
"Let's just say they've got history. I'll fill you in when we get there. 'Bye." she hung up.  
  
\---  
  
Sam and Dean had driven from Bobby's to an old, abandoned house, figuring it would be best if they didn't drag the demon all the way back to the older hunter's home.  
  
Close to midnight, Kae pulled up into the driveway and Dean went to meet her as she was dragging her captive up to the front door with her. Dried blood was matted in parts of her hair and smeared across one cheek. Her right shoulder had been scraped up pretty badly and there was a long cut on one leg. The black dress she was wearing was ripped on one side.  
  
Dean didn't know what to say.  
  
"You look...uh..."  
  
"Like hell. I know. Don't ask." she spit out through clenched teeth as she shoved the demon at him. "Keep Sam away from him. I'm going to change."


	30. Part 29

Part 29:  
  
Kae rejoined them a half an hour later, having showered (God bless whatever water company that had supplied the house's previous occupants for not shutting it off yet) and changed into a sky blue top over which she wore a jean jacket, and dark jeans and tan colored boots. Her hair, now blood free was pulled back in a tight bun at the back of her head.  
  
"Alright," she said abruptly to them when she stalked past Sam and Dean to get to the living room. "I'm gonna go see 'bout getting Pestilence's location out of the dead meat in there." When they didn't respond, she turned to look at them, and sighed. "What? He hasn't been Brady in years, guys. Brady's dead."  
  
Sam nodded. "I know."  
  
She smiled sadly at him. "Look, I wish I could just let you go in there and knife him. I really do...but we need the information, okay?"  
  
He nodded and handed the demon knife back to her. Kae patted his shoulder before heading to where Brady had been taken.  
  
Crowley was waiting for her when she walked into the living room.  
  
"Shall we?" he said.  
  
Kae gave Brady a cold smile.  
  
"Let's get started." she said. Brady remained silent as he watched her approach him, knife at the ready. "Where's Pestilence at?"  
  
He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowed.  
  
"You didn't say the magic word, Princess." he snapped, and cried out as Kae slashed through his shoulder with the knife.  
  
"First things first," she snapped back. "You call me that again, and I won't exorcise you. I will kill you - and I won't use this knife. Understand?" She slashed at his other shoulder, ignoring the groan of pain it caused. "You know I can do it." she warned, seeing the skeptical look on his face. "Do the math yourself. If Lucifer wins, he'll turn this place into his kingdom. When the morningstar cleans house, we all get the mop."  
  
Brady rolled his eyes. "He created things like us, Kae. Why would he destroy us? That makes no sense."  
  
"Okay he didn't create things like me, but he created you." Kae replied. She moved forward and straddled his lap, bringing the knife up so the edge of the blade came to rest against Brady's throat.  
  
"Look at who - at what he is." she said quietly. "Then take a look at what you are."  
  
Brady leaned forward, or tried to. Crowley hadn't taken any chances when binding him. Brady smiled coldly up at her before looking down at her belly.  
  
"Maybe you should be a little less worried about me, and be a little more worried about yourself." he sneered when she frowned at him. "If you only knew the plans he has for you, Kae..."  
  
Kae scoffed. "Sweetheart, I'm a means to an end, just like you."  
  
"Oh, he's not gonna kill you, Kae." Brady's tone became malicious. "You know that, don't you? Instead of going the same way as Daddy, you're going to watch what's left of everything you love go up in flames after Lucifer has his way with you."  
  
Kae went still at the mention of Danny. How the hell did Brady know about that?  
  
"What do you know about my father?" she managed to ask finally, keeping her voice as calm as she could.  
  
"Kae stay on target!" Crowley barked.  
  
Brady laughed as she lowered the knife from his throat.  
  
"I know all about it, Kae. All about the demon who killed him."  
  
"Who was it?" her grip on the knife tightened to the point where she could have broken it. "Who?!"  
  
"Kae!"  
  
Suddenly she was yanked backward by an invisible force, a scream leaving her mouth as she crashed into the opposite wall.  
  
\---  
  
"What were you thinking?!"  
  
"How was I supposed to know he knew who killed her father?!"  
  
"Oh like you didn't already know!"  
  
"Shut up!" Kae glared at Sam, Dean, and Crowley, who both fell silent. She sighed heavily and pressed the ice pack in her hand against the side of her throbbing head. She and the brothers had gone outside with Crowley to discuss what to do next. "Look...I was stupid. I let him get under my skin, and I shouldn't have." she leaned sideways against the banister on the front steps of the house. "So what now?"  
  
Crowley rolled his eyes. "Well he won't budge, so now I go stick my neck out."  
  
"What are you gonna do?" asked Dean.  
  
Crowley sighed and turned to look at him.  
  
"Exactly the kind of desperate swashbuckle I've been trying to avoid. Now I go kick open a hive of demons." he glared at Kae. "This bloody ring business better work."  
  
And he disappeared.  
  
\---  
  
"How're you doing?"  
  
"My head's killing me." Kae sighed and switched the ice pack over to the other side of her head. "Sam?" He turned to look at her. The two were seated on the front porch. Dean had gone inside to get a beer while they waited for Crowley to return.  
  
"Yeah?" Sam replied.  
  
"You know that even if we get the key completed, there's not a chance in hell of trapping Lucifer back in it."  
  
"What do you mean?" Sam frowned.  
  
"Look, for all we know, Gabriel was wrong and he does know about the rings. Hell, I'm sure Pestilence was in the know about what we're doing from the time you and Dean took War's ring." she looked over at him. "I'm - I think I'm going to say it."  
  
Sam's expression became incredulous.  
  
"What? Kae do you realize what -"  
  
"Yeah I do. And I know you're thinking about it too." she said. Sam shifted uncomfortably next to her. "What if you did?"  
  
Sam didn't answer.  
  
Just then, Crowley reappeared in the yard.  
  
"I suggest we take this little party inside," he said as Kae opened her mouth to speak. "Now."  
  
"What'd you do?" Kae demanded.  
  
"Just what I said, Princess," Crowley said impatiently as he strode toward them, ignoring the way Kae tensed at the nickname. "Knocked over a demon's nest - had a nice little massacre. That's the good news."  
  
"What's the bad news?" Sam asked uneasily.  
  
Crowley smirked. "Why don't we save that little bulletin for our tied up friend, hmm? Bad news for him, great for us."  
  
He disappeared again, and when Kae heard Dean swearing loudly, she knew the demon had reappeared in the house.  
  
"Come on," Sam said wearily and the two hurried back inside.  
  
\---  
  
When they got back inside, Kae found Dean sitting on the staircase, waiting for them. She could faintly hear Crowley's voice coming from the other room where Brady was being held.  
  
"...now death is off the table. Now you get to be on the boss's eternal torment list with little old me."  
  
"What the hell did he do?"  
  
Dean shrugged.  
  
"No idea."  
  
Suddenly the distant sound of howling broke through the brief silence that followed Dean's answer. Kae was surprised to see his face turn white, and cried out in surprise when he jumped up off the steps.  
  
"What?" she asked, reaching into her jacket for her own knife, while Sam pulled out the demon knife. "Dean?"  
  
"Hellhound," he said.  
  
"Fucking hell." Kae breathed. She'd only briefly heard of the beasts, but the little she knew still terrified her. Why did Dean look so... "Dean you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine." The color returned to his face and he sounded more like his old self.  
  
"Liar."  
  
"Kae we don't have time for this!" When she didn't budge, he groaned in frustration. "Long story short, a hellhound ripped me to shreds two years ago and dragged me to Hell."  
  
Kae stared at him in horror.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Later!" he barked, grabbing her arm. "C'mon!" he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the room where Crowley and Brady were. "Hellhound?" Dean said, eyes locking onto Crowley. "Why a hellhound?"  
  
Crowley shrugged.  
  
"Followed me."  
  
"Damn it." Brady breathed, and for the first time he actually looked scared. "Get me out of here. I'll tell you anything you want."  
  
"Shut up," Sam snapped at him as he walked into the room.  
  
The howls sounded again, and this time they were much closer and louder.  
  
"Fuck." Dean's arm settled around Kae's waist and pulled her close. "What now?"  
  
"Leave?" Sam suggested.  
  
"Sorry. No one knows more about the hounds than I." Crowley told them, exasperated. "You're long past the point of 'go'." He winked at Kae and disappeared again.  
  
Sam and Dean swore loudly.  
  
"Salt?" Kae suggested.  
  
"Check the kitchen," Sam responded, "I'll watch Brady."  
  
The captive demon rolled his eyes at that. Kae however, nodded and shrugged Dean's arm off of her before hurrying off.  
  
\---  
  
It didn't take her long to find the salt. However, before she could get it open and make it to the window, the window itself shattered and the sound of snarling filled the room.  
  
 _Son of a bitch_. Something knoced her backwards and the putrid smell of what had to be the animal's breath filled her nose, and something wet splashed across her chest and neck. Slobber - just gross. _Now I remember why I hate dogs._ she thought bitterly as she tried to throw the hound off.  
  
Kae managed to get her knife with hrer free hand, the other having managed to find its throat while avoiding the teeth, and slashed the air wildly, hoping to connect with flesh. There was a loud yelp and then wet, sticky black ooze flowed over her hand and down her arm.  
  
Then she heard another yelp, as something knocked the hound off of her, and the room was suddenly full of growls and yelps.  
  
"Alright?" she looked up to see Crowley standing over her.  
  
"I'm fine." she looked at the space of the room where all the noise was coming from. "Yours, I presume?"  
  
"Correct." he grinned. "I'll wager $1000 my pup wins."  
  
She laughed and got to her feet slowly.  
  
"No thanks."  
  
Kae looked down at the mess on her arm and hand with disgust and shrugged her jacket off, wiping the mess leftover on her hand on her jeans. It didn't help much but it was all she could do at the moment. She sighed and left the room.  
  
\----  
  
Once they left the house, the group managed to make it to an alleyway in town where Brady finally gave up Pestilence's location.  
  
"What do you think?" Dean asked Crowley as he read the paper he'd been given.  
  
"It's good." Crowley replied, smirking at Brady. "You've got no reason to lie, have you? Like I said before, you're in my boat now."  
Brady stared at Crowley coldly.  
  
"You've screwed me - for eternity." he said resentfully.  
  
"Nah. Won't last that long. Trust me." Crowley turned and walked away, with Dean on his heels, salt canister in hand as he poured out a line of salt on the ground behind Sam, who still stood facing Brady. Kae looked at Sam for a moment before following suit and taking care to step over the line Dean was making.  
  
"Where are you going?" she heard Brady say.  
  
Dean closed the line behind Crowley, letting him disappear for a final time (or at least until the next time they had a run-in). Kae turned around to watch Sam and Brady, who stared at them incredulously.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
Dean looked at Sam, who still had his back to him and Kae.  
  
"All those angels, all those demons, all those sons of bitches - They just don't get it, do they, Sammy?"  
  
Sam shook his head. "No they don't, Dean."  
  
The younger Winchester began walking toward Brady, and Kae saw him raise the demon-knife in his hand. Dean's gaze shifted from Sam to Brady.  
  
"You see, Brady...We're the ones you should be afraid of." he told the demon.  
  
Brady scoffed, his eyes locked on Sam as he approached. "I bet this is a real moment for you, big boy. Gonna make you feel all better?"  
  
"It's a start," Sam said flatly, which made Brady laugh.  
  
"Gonna make up for all the times we yanked your chain - Yellow eyes, Ruby, me?" he said. "But it wasn't all our fault, was it? No, no, no, no. You're the one who trusted us. You're the one who let us into your life, let us whisper in your ear over and over and over again. Ever wonder why that is, Sammy? Ever wonder why we were so in your blind spot? Maybe it's because we got the same stuff in our veins and, deep down, you know you're just like us." Brady paused long enough to lunge at Sam, only for Sam to catch him with the tip of the blade. "Aaah!" he gasped in pain but still smiled derisively up at Sam. "Maybe you hate us so much because you hate what you see every time you look in the mirror." he panted. "You ever think of that?!" he started to laugh. "Maybe the only difference between you and a demon...is your hell is right here."  
  
Sam's response to Brady's tirade was to stab him repeatedly in the stomach.  
  
"Interesting theory," he said calmly, as Brady's body fell to the ground, only for Sam to continue to stab him.  
When he was done, he turned around, leaving Brady where he lay, and walked past Dean and Kae back down the alley. The two followed him back to the Impala and once again hit the road.  
  
\---  
  
A few hours later, they had stopped at a motel en route to Sioux Falls. Bobby had called to tell them he had managed to get Death's location, but he'd also said he had something else to discuss with them. Whatever that 'something' was, he hadn't said. Kae had gone for a food run, and returned to find Sam waiting for her at the bus stop (Dean had refused to let her take the Impala - not that she minded much anymore).  
  
"Hey," she said, surprised as she stepped off the bus. "You okay?"  
  
"I uh, I wanted to talk to you," he said nervously, "about what you said...back at that house. About saying it."  
  
"Saying yes?" she said, eyebrow raised. One of the bags of food in her arms slipped and fell and he moved quickly to catch it before it hit the ground. "Thanks. I thought you weren't sure about that."  
  
Sam was quiet for a few moments as they made their way down the sidewalk back toward the motel.  
  
"You were right. I do want to say it. I thought about it some more....and I talked to Bobby."  
  
"Can't imagine he was thrilled to hear that you're thinking about it."  
  
Sam laughed.  
  
"You'd be right about that." he replied. "Are you sure you want to let him do that to you?"  
  
"I think so." she said slowly. "Are you sure you can handle Lucifer being inside your body?"  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"I've been possessed before. Demon." he added, seeing her confused expression. "I think I can handle the Devil...and that way I can get him to jump in the Cage. You don't need -"  
  
"He's going to want to do it after he takes control of you, Sam," she pointed out, "and let's not forget, he basically wants Dean roasting on a spit. Hell when he checked to see if I was pregnant last time, he told me he was glad he didn't have to kill him. I'm...protecting him."  
  
They walked through the motel parking lot and headed for their rooms.  
  
"He wants your consent, right?" Sam said.  
  
"Chivalrous of him, I know." Kae said dryly.  
  
"No I mean...I could get him to let me be in control...to let me...you know." he finished lamely, causing her to burst into laughter.  
  
"Have sex with me, you mean?" she said, "Come on Sam, we're not awkward teenagers anymore, you can say it."  
  
"Do you think it would work, though?" he asked earnestly. "I don't...If you're going to..."  
  
She smiled and patted his arm.  
  
"I get it." she said quietly. "So...we're agreed? You let him in, I let him...in," she looked disgusted but hurried on. "and I convince him I actually do want to stay by his side and help destroy the planet. And that's before we somehow figure out a way for you to get him into the Cage." she sighed. "Dean's gonna love that."  
  
"We don't do it if he, Cas, and Bobby don't agree...or if there's a better option," Sam said. "Okay?"  
She nodded.  
  
"Agreed." she said before reaching for her room key. "Let's get inside - I'm starving."


	31. Part 30

Part 30:  
  
"I'm sorry - what?"  
  
Kae glanced at Sam briefly, then Bobby, and then back at Dean. The glare he gave her seemed to cut through her insides but she squared her shoulders and glared back. They'd finally reached Bobby's house a couple of days later, and that was when she and Sam had decided to tell him what they'd discussed.  
  
"Dean, we talked it over." she explained. "Sam's not going to let him do anything - and even if he tried -"  
  
"What are you gonna do, Kae?" he demanded. "Work some demon magic on him? He's a fucking fallen angel!"  
  
"Dean -" Sam started, but before he could finish his thought, his brother was overriding him.  
  
"No, don't 'Dean' me," he snapped. "I mean, you have had some stupid ideas in the past, but this -" he looked at Bobby. "Did you know about this?"  
  
He shrugged. "I knew about Sam's idea, not Kae's."  
  
"Well thanks for the heads up!"  
  
"Hey this ain't about me," Bobby snapped, but Dean was no longer paying attention to him.  
  
"You can't do this." he said angrily.  
  
Kae glanced at Sam.  
  
"Well, Sam and I agreed we wouldn't go through with it, if you and Bobby and Cas weren't okay with it." she said. "But as far as 'can't'? Sam and I are adults, Dean. You can't tell us what -"  
  
Dean's cell phone rang at that moment, and he sighed. "This isn't over," he said abruptly before answering it. "Hello?" he frowned. "Cas?"  
  
"Is he okay?" Sam asked quickly. They hadn't heard from Cas in a while.  
  
"We all thought you were dead." Dean said. "Where the hell are you, man?" He fell silent as he listened to Cas' response. "Are you okay?" he rolled his eyes. "You wanna elabroate?"  
  
Kae chose that moment to walk out of the room. She needed some air.  
  
\---  
  
After his conversation with Cas had ended, Dean had wanted to speak (well more like argue) against Kae's and Sam's ideas of saying yes. Unfortunately Kae had managed to slip from the room. Bobby told him he'd seen Kae head for the salvage yard outside. It was there that he found her sitting on the hood of a rusted out four by four.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts," he said.  
  
"Hmm?" She looked up and rolled her eyes as the saying registered with her brain. "No thanks."  
  
"Aww come on," he pouted as he walked over to her. "Normally you wanna talk about shit like this."  
  
She snorted.  
  
"Well that right there really makes me wanna talk about it, D." she said sarcastically. "I mean, like I said, Sam and I agreed we wouldn't do anything if you guys weren't okay with it. That's all you had to say. Didn't need to bite our heads off." They fell into an awkward silence until Kae said, "I just...I don't see how we can get him to the Cage without Sam and I involved."  
  
"But that close, Kae, I..." Dean sighed heavily, leaning forward and bracing his hands on either side of her hips on the car hood.  
  
"Hey. Eyes up here if you're gonna keep talkin'," Kae teased when he didn't look up. "Dean, you don't always have to protect me. I can handle -"  
  
"You keep saying that, but I know you're scared as fuck." He chose that moment to finally look up at her face. "I saw the look on your face when he was holding you. Do you really think you can handle him doing - that to you?"  
  
"Hell no." she shook her head. "But if it means he'll trust me enough to let me manipulate him into getting to the Cage, then I'll do it."  
  
\----  
  
"Serenity Valley Convalescent Home," Kae looked out at the home from the back seat of the Impala. "So this is Dr. Evil's lair, huh?"  
  
"It's kind of more depressing than evil," Sam commented.  
  
"It's like a four-color brochure for dying young." said Dean. "Of course to Pestilence, it's probably Dollywood in there."  
  
Kae snorted.  
  
"Dollywood? Really?"  
  
Dean didn't respond. He was watching the building. Sam groaned as he realized why Dean was quiet. They could see patients and doctors and nurses going inside and leaving the building.  
  
"Great." he said. "A while building full of people."  
  
"Human shields...just like Niveus. Smart bastards." Kae muttered. "We don't know who's human, who's demon, and who's Pestilence. So what do we do?"  
  
Dean thought about it for a moment, then he got out of the car. Sam and Kae followed suit, and then followed him into the building and up to the front desk.  
  
"Hey. Hi." he told the security guard. "Uh, I'm looking for my Nana. Uh, her name is Eunice Kennedy."  
  
"Go around front and see the nurse." the guard replied in a bored voice.  
  
"Eunice Kennedy?" Kae hissed incredulously at Sam. "Who does he think he's kidding?"  
  
Sam shrugged silently and they waited until the guard had cleared them to go through. What Kae wasn't expecting was for Dean to hit him as soon as they were through.  
  
"Beauty of improv," he muttered to them as they set off down the hall. "You never know what's gonna come out of your mouth."  
  
"Was knocking him out really necessary?" Kae wanted to know.  
  
"Couldn't risk it. We're short on time." he answered.  
  
"So...what are we looking for?" Sam asked.  
  
"Well, he's Pestilence, so he probably looks sick."  
  
"Not necessarily," Kae reasoned. "Probably trying to blend in as a doctor. Instead of helping people, he's killing them. What?" Sam and Dean stared at her in surprise. "Common sense, guys. Let's move."  
  
They made their way down a different hallway where Sam and Dean started showing signs of getting sick.  
  
"  
Ugh," Sam coughed, "Must be getting close."  
  
"You think?" Dean said irritably, and Kae rushed to grab him as he went down onto his knees. "Hey. Why...why aren't you...?" The rest of the question was lost in a violent coughing fit.  
  
"Hell if I know." Kae replied. "Look," she turned to Sam but he had also collapsed. "Look I can't -"  
  
"Kae, whatever - whatever this is," Sam wheezed, looking up at her desperately, his mouth covered with blood. "You...have to finish it."  
  
"Kaelyn Thomas?" A feminine voice said before Kae could respond. She whirled around to see a nurse in pink scrubs smirking at her, her eyes a demonic black. "Sam and Dean Winchester? The doctor will see you now."  
\---  
  
"Hmm. Your boys don't look well, Kae."  
  
Kae stared back at Pestilence defiantly. They'd moved (with the assistance of Pestilence's demon lackeys dragging Sam and Dean with them) into an empty exam room.  
  
"What did you do to them?" she demanded.  
  
He shrugged, smiling at her curiously. It made her nervous.  
  
"It might be the, uh, Scarlet fever. Or, uh, the meningitis. Oh! Or the syphilis. That's no fun. However you boys feel right now?" he looked down at the two men near death on the floor. "It's gonna get so very, very much worse. Questions?"  
  
"I've got one, you fucking jackass." Kae said promptly. "Why not me too?"  
  
"It's rude to interrupt, Kae." Pestilence replied pleasantly. "But you've got to ask yourself, why would I try to harm Lucifer's concubine?" he scoffed. "I can't. Boss's got his own special block on me. Death too. Not allowed to harm 'the missus'. He knows about the deal you made with that rat Crowley too. You can consider that void."  
  
Kae stared at him in anger. That deal was the one thing securing Dean's safety!  
  
"Fuck you." she spat.  
  
"Sorry, can't. Would definitely _love_ to, but can't." he smirked as his eyes traveled down her body and back up to settle on her face. "Disease gets a bad rap, don't you think? For being filthy. Chaotic. Uh, but, really, t-that just describes people who get sick. Disease itself...Very...Pure...Single-minded. Bacteria have one purpose - divide and conquer." Pestilence took the opportunity to step on Dean's hand and grinned at the weak cry of pain it caused. "That's why, in the end...It always wins. So you've got to wonder why God pours all his love into something so messy...And it's ridiculous. All I can do is show him he's wrong, one epidemic at a time. Now..." he looked from Sam to Dean and back to Sam. "On a scale of one to ten, how's your pain?"  
  
Suddenly the door to the room opened with a bang and Cas walked in.  
  
"Cas!" cried Kae, kneeling down next to Dean. "How'd you get here?"  
  
"I took a bus," was the answer he gave before turning to Pestilence, "Don't worry, I -" Suddenly he fell to the floor in a coughing fit.  
  
Pestilence grinned.  
  
"Well look at that," he commented. "An occupied vessel, but powerless. Oh that's fascinating. There's not a speck of angel left in you, is there?"  
  
Cas managed to make it a bit closer on his knees, close enough that he could grab the knife Kae quickly handed him and cut off two of Pestilence's fingers -- one of which bore his ring.  
  
"Maybe just a speck," he said roughly.  
  
"It doesn't matter," Pestilence rasped as he collapsed. "It's too late."  
  
Kae turned away from the dying horseman to Dean, who was staring up at her a little dazed. She felt relieved to see that the epidemic cocktail Pestilence had hit him with seemed to have vanished.  
  
"What did he mean?" she asked.  
  
"Dunno," he groaned as he sat up.  
  
"Hey, take it easy," she cautioned, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm fine." he replied before looking at Sam. "Sammy? You alright?"  
  
Sam nodded. "Cas?"  
  
The angel nodded and got to his feet. "What now?"  
  
Dean sighed.  
  
"Bobby's house." he said after thinking about it. "He should have some idea what's up."  
  
"Okay."  
  
\---  
  
Back at Bobby's house, Cas and Kae had taken the living room for themselves while Sam and Dean spoke with Bobby in his study.  
  
"So...Pestilence couldn't harm you? At all?"  
  
Kae shook her head and Cas stared at her in surprise. "What?"  
  
"He's planning for it to be soon then, if he's prevented Pestilence from harming you." he replied. "I assume he's done the same with Death."  
  
"That's what he said," Kae lifted the glass of water she was holding up to her mouth and took a sip. "Pestilence."  
  
"Definitely soon." Cas murmured. "Interesting."  
  
"What I find interesting is that Heaven cut you off." she replied, leaning back against the couch cushion behind her. "You're one of them."  
  
He shook his head. "I stopped being 'one of them' a long time ago, Kae."  
  
"I think I'm gonna say it to Lucifer," she said softly. "Before you ask, they already know." she jerked her head toward the study. "Sam and I talked it over."  
  
"Sam thinks he wants to say it as well?" Cas' eyes widened.  
  
"Uh-huh." Kae paused. "I want to know what you think."  
  
Cas' expression turned thoughtful. He opened his mouth to respond but at that moment, Sam poked his head into the room.  
  
"Uh, guys? You're gonna want to hear this."  
  
\---  
  
"No way!" Kae stared at Bobby in shock. "You sold your soul?!"  
  
"As I've already told your companions, no. He pawned it." Crowley huffed. "I will give it back."  
  
"Oh bullshit." she snapped. "Give it back now!"  
  
"No I will," Crowley insisted. "but not yet."  
  
"Did he kiss you?" Sam asked Bobby, and Kae and Dean rounded on him.  
  
"Sam!" Dean snapped.  
  
His brother shrugged. "Just wondering."  
  
"No!" Bobby exclaimed, but Crowley smirked and held up his phone. On the screen they could see a photo that indeed showed Bobby and Crowley in a lip-lock. When Kae looked at Bobby he looked very uncomfortable. "Why'd you have to take a picture?"  
  
"Why'd you have to use tongue?" Crowley shot back.  
  
"Alright, you know what?" Dean said angrily. "I'm sick of this. Give him his soul back now."  
  
"Sorry I can't."  
  
"You just said you would!" Kae cried.  
  
"All in good time, love," Crowley said easily, "It's insurance."  
  
Kae took a step toward him, pulling out her knife in the process. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You lot kill demons. Gigantor over there has a temper issue about it. But you won't kill me...as long as I have that soul in the deposit box."  
  
"You son of a bitch," Bobby growled as Kae lunged, knife held high.  
  
"Kae don't!" Dean grabbed her and held her back.  
  
Kae put her knife away reluctantly, but the look she gave Crowley plainly said she wanted him dead.  
  
"I will kill you," she threatened. "One day when this shitstorm is over, you're dead. Understand?"  
  
Crowley rolled his eyes.  
  
"Considering you're my bitch when this is all over, I don't see how that's possible."  
  
"You didn't hear?" Kae said coldly. "Pestilence said Lucifer found out about our little bargain. It's void." she smiled at the look of shock on his face. "Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it?"  
  
"Enough." Bobby chose that moment to intervene. "Are you gonna return it or not?"  
  
"I'll return it," Crowley agreed, still staring at Kae. "After this is over, and I can walk safely away. Do we all understand each other?"  
  
No one answered him.


	32. Part 31

Part 31:  
  
Kae stood next to Dean as he packed up the Impala. Next to them, Sam and Cas were packing up Bobby's van. Kae watched them for a minute before she returned her attention back to Dean.  
  
"You think any of that will be good enough to take Death out?" she asked.  
  
He shrugged and tossed the sawed-off shot gun he was holding down into the assortment of weapons in the trunk. "Dunno. One of 'em's bound to."  
  
"Fat chance." Crowley appeared next to Kae. "You're covered." he passed a small scythe over to Dean. "Death's own." he explained. "Kills, golly, demons and angels and reapers, and, rumor has it, the very thing itself."  
  
"How'd...you know what? I don't even want to know." Kae watched as Dean stowed the scythe in the trunk and shut it.  
  
"You sure you don't want to help them take out the virus?" Dean asked her.  
  
"Nope. You're stuck with me."  
  
He grinned.  
  
"Good."  
  
\----  
  
Sam and Cas spent most of the drive to Niveus Pharmaceuticals in silence. Finally, after an hour, Sam had decided to tell Cas what he and Kae wanted to do. Cas was silent, but then he said,  
  
"Kae told me the plan as well. It's interesting."  
  
Up in the front seat, Bobby scoffed. "That's a word for it."  
  
Sam glared at him before turning back to Cas. "So? Go ahead and tell me it's the worst plan you've ever heard."  
  
Cas nodded.  
  
"Of course. I am happy to say that if that's what you want to hear..." he sighed. "but it's not what I think."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Cas nodded.  
  
"You and Dean have a habit of exceeding my expectations," he explained. "Dean resisted Michael. Maybe you could resist Lucifer, but there are things you need to know."  
  
"Cas we know Michael took Adam as his vessel."  
  
"That's not what I'm talking about." Cas said. "Sam...if you and Kae say yes to Lucifer, and you fail....This fight will happen. She will become pregnant with the Antichrist. And the collateral...it'll be immense. And there's the demon blood."  
  
"But...why?"  
  
"It strengthens the vessel. Keeps it from exploding." Cas explained wearily. "And once Kae is pregnant, she will have to consume it as well."  
  
"Kae's half demon," Sam protested. "Shouldn't she be fine without it?"  
  
"Half human, half demon. Still vulnerable. She's a cambion, Sam. She's more powerful than Lucifer - than any of the archangels combined -" Cas stopped short, confused by the expression on Sam's face. " - but on demon blood and pregnant with Lucifer's spawn, there is no limit to her powers." he paused to take a breath. "The demon blood helps the fetus control its own power, and keeps Kae from dying while it develops."  
  
Sam didn't speak for a moment.  
  
"But if I -"  
  
"You think you can control yourself if Lucifer lets you be the one to impregnate her?" Cas looked skeptical. "Sam I saw what you were like the last time you were on demon blood."  
  
"I would never hurt her." Sam insisted.  
  
Silence lapsed between the two, only to be broken when Cas commented,  
  
"Never say never."  
  
\---  
  
Once they had reached Chicago, Kae was shocked to see that the city didn't look to be in danger of anything, except a nasty storm. She knew it wasn't a regular storm though - it was a sign that Death was there.  
"So...where exactly is he?" she asked, turning away from the car door window.  
  
"No clue." Dean responded.  
  
"Say, I've got an idea," Crowley piped up from the back seat. "Let's stop for pizza."  
  
"I'm not hungry." Kae answered. At the same time, Dean twisted around in his seat and said, "Are you kidding?"  
  
Crowley shrugged. "Just heard it was good. That's all." As Dean turned his attention back to the road, the demon leaned forward to get a better look at their surroundings. "Up ahead. Big, ugly building. Ground zero. Horseman's stable, if you will. He's in there."  
  
"How do you know?" Dean asked skeptically.  
  
Crowley looked at him as if he'd grown another head. "Have you met me?" he asked. "'Cause I know. Also, the block is squirming with reapers. I'll be right back." he vanished and reappeared in the car within seconds. "Boy is my face red. He's not in there."  
  
"You wanna cut the cute and get to the part where you tell us where he is?" Dean demanded, clearly losing his patience.  
  
Kae turned and looked out her window again as Dean drove slowly down a busy street. A strange, cold feeling started to grow in the pit of her stomach. She let out a small gasp as her eyes locked on what appeared to be a small pizzeria a few buildings ahead. It scared her to bits - this was not a power a cambion should have...not a normal cambion anyway.  
  
Crowley shook his head.  
  
"Sorry, I don't know."  
  
"He's...he's in there." Kae said softly, eyes wide and terrified. Dean and Crowley rounded on her as she pointed at the building. "D, watch the road alright? I-I can't explain it. I just - I can feel him."  
  
"You can sense him?" Dean asked, doing as she asked and turning his attention back to the road. "How the hell -?"  
  
"I don't know, it just started!" she cried, frustrated.  
  
Crowley however, gave her a knowing look. "Lucifer." he said coolly. "It makes sense. If he can't oversee Death himself when he's taking care of Michael, logic states that it would pass to his child, or in this case, the mum-to-eventually-be." he pursed his lips and nodded. "It'll be soon then."  
  
"Cas said the same thing," Kae responded. "because Pestilence and Death both have orders not to kill me."  
  
Crowley swore at that.  
  
"Well then, this better get him locked up tight before junior gets conceived." he said through gritted teeth as he put the car in park outside the pizzeria.  
  
"That's not gonna happen." said Dean vehemently.  
  
"You keep saying that, but it doesn't sound like you believe it." Crowley looked over at Kae. "And while we're on the subject, it's her choice. Now then...are you gonna go chat him up before you do the deed, or is she?"  
  
Dean scowled and got out of the car before going to the trunk to retrieve the scythe Crowley had given him.  
  
\---  
  
"So I've got to ask you something."  
  
"What you need to is shut your damn mouth." Kae muttered, nervously clutching her gun close to her chest as she watched Dean talk to Death from the car. Why hadn't he gone in for the kill yet?"  
  
"Well aren't we feeling all fiery right now, hmm?" Crowley snorted. "Do you really think Lucifer is going to go for your little scheme?"  
  
"Is it really any of your business?" Kae asked, turning to face the demon. "Shut the hell up and just sit there, alright? Sooner Dean gets the ring, the better."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Dean did return, but Kae could clearly still see Death seated in the pizzeria.  
  
"What happened in there?" she asked as soon as he was back in the car. He didn't answer. "Dean?"  
  
"I got the damn ring." he muttered. "Call Sam...tell him we're headed back to Bobby's, alright?" she stared at him speechless for what seemed like an eternity. When she didn't move, he pulled out his cell and called his brother. "Sammy? We go it. We're headed back to Bobby's. See you there."  
  
He tossed his phone to Kae and started the engine.  
  
Nobody spoke as they left Chicago.  
  
\---  
  
Dean and Kae didn't speak for the entire drive. Crowley chose to vanish as they crossed the Illinois/Iowa border, leaving them in an even more awkward silence than before. Then, when they reached Mason City, Dean decided they'd crash at the first motel they saw and Kae called Sam to give him an update once they were checked in.  
  
Once they got to their room, Kae immediately curled up in bed, and Dean stayed at the small table near the door, an unopened bottle of beer resting on its surface as he stared blankly at the book of lore he'd brought in.  
  
"Alright, I'll bite," Kae said tiredly, after an hour had passed. Dean looked up at her questioningly. "What's going on with you?"  
  
His face became expressionless and he looked down at his book again.  
  
"Nothing," he mumbled.  
  
"Bullshit." she pushed back the covers and sat up on the mattress. "You didn't say a damn word after you talked to Death. Hell, you didn't even kill him!" Did you even actually get the ring, Dean? Or were you too busy sampling Chicago's pizza?"  
  
"I couldn't kill him, Kae!" Dean said angrily, looking up at her again as he tossed the book aside. "He knew why we were there! He made me a deal -"  
  
"And what was that?" she demanded, scrambling up off the bed.  
  
"To let you get pregnant," he answered, "To let you consume demon blood for fuck's sake!"  
  
"And you think I can't handle that," she stated, tone icy. "Dean, what do I look like to you? Do I look like some fucking damsel in distress?"  
  
"No -"  
  
"I mean - we've been on the road together how long?" she scoffed and ran a hand through her hair. "I can handle Lucifer. You know I can."  
  
"Because you're part demon." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and Kae walked up to him and struck him across the face.  
  
"Because I'm _part demon_?" she said and let out a short laugh. "Do you have any idea how much shit I've had to put up with for years, because I'm part demon? And every time, guess who's come out on top, Dean - not angels, not demons, not monsters - me!" she yelled, shoving him backward, "and I'll be damned if I let you stop me from doing something I need to do to get Lucifer back in his cage!" she shoved him again, this time pushing him aside so he wasn't blocking the door anymore, and reached for the door handle. "I - Maybe I should just head up to South Dakota by myself. Fighting with you - it's not worth it."  
  
Her hand trembled as it wrapped around the cold metal of the door knob, but before she could pull the door open, Dean's hand suddenly latched onto her other wrist, holding it firmly, but not tight enough to hurt her.  
  
"Don't," she heard him say, softly, pleadingly. "Please...don't leave."  
  
She sucked in a long breath, so tired of arguing with him, and turned to face Dean. "Look, Dean -"  
  
Before she could get her completed thought out, his lips slid softly over hers in a short but tender kiss. Barely seconds later, he pulled back, watching her closely.  
  
"Sorry, I..." she stared at him incredulously. "If you want to leave...I...I just -"  
  
Kae wasn't sure what came over her then. Maybe it was seeing him being this vulnerable with her...maybe it was stupidity. Maybe...  
  
She pulled him back down to kiss her again roughly, hands fisting in the dark t-shirt he was wearing. When her knees buckled, he caught her and lifted her up, which allowed her to wrap her legs around her waist. A strangled gasp, combined with a surprised squeak left her mouth when Dean moved them until he had Kae pinned against the wall. He grinned and she stared at him incredulously for a moment before leaning forward (or trying to - he had her pinned pretty well) and pressing her forehead against his.  
  
"Fucking hell," she gasped before he leaned in and kissed her again, and it was all she could get out, because his lips had moved from her mouth, down to her neck. "Dean, I -"  
  
"What do you want?" came the muffled reply, before Dean lifted his head, but not before lightly biting the skin where her neck met her shoulder.  
  
"Bed," she managed to get out as he reached for the hem of the white cami she'd worn to bed and began trying to pull it up. "Right now."  
  
Dean grinned at her and nodded.  
  
"Well alright then."


	33. Part 32

Part 32:  
  
When Kae woke up later, she found herself tucked up against Dean's chest, one arm slung over his middle. She exhaled softly and looked up to see him smiling at her.  
  
"Hey," he murmured.  
  
"Hey," she whispered. "What time is it?"  
  
He glanced at the clock beside the bed. "Six."  
  
Kae nodded and snuggled against him as she tried and failed to supress a yawn. "Dean?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Was I...okay?" Sure, Kae wasn't a virgin, but hell, none of the guys she'd ever been with had been as good in bed as Dean had been.  
  
"You were fucking fantastic," he replied easily. She sighed and sat up, hugging the sheet to her chest. "Kae?"  
  
"You uh, you used a condom, right?" she asked as he sat up and wrapped an arm around her waist.  
  
"Yeah." he frowned, not understanding what she was getting at. She gave him a significant look and then he got it. "Oh. It didn't break."  
  
"You're positive?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah." he nodded. "Where's this coming from?"  
  
She shook her head. "Forget it."  
  
"Hey." he tucked two fingers under Kae's chin and lifted her head up so she was looking at him. "This is about Lucifer." she nodded reluctantly. "He's not gonna kill me 'cause we had sex, Kae." he cocked his head to the side. "Kae, you wanted this, didn't you?"  
  
"Of course I did," Kae replied earnestly. "I would've stopped you if I didn't." she sighed. "But I don't want to see you die."  
  
"Hey. What have you been telling me all along, huh?" he waited for her to answer, but she just looked at him, confused. "You say you can handle him. I can do the same...and so can Sam."  
  
"Who are you and what have you done with Dean Winchester?" she asked, and he gave her a devious smile before pulling her back down on the mattress with him, and had rolled on top of her.  
  
"We don't have to leave for another hour...or three." he said, and she laughed before letting him kiss her. "What do you say to round two?"  
  
Kae grinned.  
  
"Fuck yes."  
  
\---  
  
It took two more hours for them to actually make it out of bed, and over an hour in the shower together, so Dean had technically been right when he'd guessed that it would take them three hours before they left Mason City.  
  
Kae was in the middle of drying her hair when Dean got a phone call and hollered to her that he'd take it outside. Ten minutes later, she was done and had finished packing up her bag when Dean walked back in.  
  
"Sam?" she asked.  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Said Niveus went awesome - virus is destroyed. We put Lucifer in the can and it's lights out on the apocalypse." he walked over and grabbed their bags. "You ready?"  
  
Kae nodded.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
\---  
  
Three hours after leaving the motel, Dean and Kae reached Bobby's home. They found Sam waiting for them in the yard.  
  
"Hey," he greeted as they climbed out of the Impala.  
  
"I'm in," the words tumbled quickly from Dean's mouth, taking both Kae and Sam by surprise.  
  
"In with...?" Sam said.  
  
Dean shifted his weight uncomfortably. "The whole 'up with Satan' thing. I'm on board."  
  
Sam's expression turned skeptical.  
  
"You're going to let me say yes?" Kae didn't blame him for not believing, not when Dean had been so vehemently against the idea when it was first proposed.  
  
Dean shook his head.  
  
"No." he replied. "That's the thing. It's not on me to let you do anything. You're a grown - well, overgrown man. If this is what you want, I'll back your play."  
  
"That's the last thing I thought you'd ever say," Sam said relieved.  
  
Dean shrugged and looked at Kae briefly before back at Sam.  
  
"Might be. I'm not gonna lie to you though. It goes against every fiber I got. I mean, truth is...You know, watching out for you, it's kind of been my job, you know? But more than that, it's...it's kinda who I am." he explained. "You're not a kid anymore, Sam, and I can't keep treating you like one. Maybe I got to grow up a little too. I don't know if we got a snowball's chance. But...But I do know that if anybody can do it...it's you."  
  
Sam nodded.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Dean studied him for a moment. "If this is what you want," he said. "...Is this really what you want?"  
  
Another nod.  
  
"I let him out. I got to put him back in."  
  
"Okay. That's it, then."  
  
Dean turned away from them and headed for Bobby's front door. Sam looked questioningly at Kae and then yelled at Dean,  
  
"What about her?"  
  
Kae laughed at his indignant expression.  
  
"It's okay...he's cool with me too. We talked about it." she walked around the car and patted his arm. "So let's go pin down the devil, huh?"  
  
He nodded and they followed Dean up to the house.  
  
\---  
  
"Okay so tell me again why we're heading to some warehouse to pin down some rogue demons that aren't Satan."  
  
Up in the front seat of the car, Sam and Dean exchanged a look before Sam answered Kae.  
  
"Demon blood." he said.  
  
"Right." Kae was silent for a moment. "To keep you from exploding."  
  
"Yeah."  
"I'm gonna have to drink it too." she said softly.  
  
"You don't have to drink it unless he gets you pregnant," Dean said.  
  
"Fantastic." she muttered sarcastically.  
  
\---  
Later, Sam, Bobby and Kae waited outside the warehouse while Dean and Cas (who'd joined them when they reached the location) tracked down the demons they were looking for and killed them.  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
The question caught Kae off guard, causing her to turn her head so fast that her neck cracked and she swore loudly.  
  
"What?"  
  
Sam stared at her intently. "Do you love him?" he repeated.  
  
"What? Dean? I..." Kae trailed off and stared at the ground. "Sam -"  
  
"Kae don't make me ask again." he said.  
  
"I don't know him." she answered. "Outside of hunting, he's a fucking complete mystery. I mean...I don't even know his favorite color for crying out loud. But I...Yeah. I love him."  
  
Sam considered her for a moment and then nodded.  
  
"Do something for me then?" he asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
But before Sam could respond, Dean and Cas headed out of the building toward them, each carrying two gallon jugs filled with dark red blood. The sight made Kae nauseous. They put all four jugs in the trunk of the Impala, and then Dean walked over to meet Bobby, who was parked a short distance away. Kae followed him.  
  
"...stunt demons inside, just like you said." she heard Dean say when she'd reached them.  
  
"Did you get it?" Bobby asked.  
  
"Yeah. All the 'go-juice' Sammy can drink."  
  
"You okay?" she asked, surprising both men. Had the situation not been so serious, she wuld have laughed her ass off at the way Dean swore and looked around wildly at the sudden interruption.  
  
"Not really." Dean said when he'd caught his breath and put her hand to her mouth to stifle any giggles in danger of breaking free. He looked at Bobby. "What do you got?"  
  
"Not much. These look like omens to you?" Bobby showed him and Kae some newspapers that he'd brought. "Cyclone in Florida, temperature drop in Detroit, wildfires in L.A."  
  
Dean frowned as he leafed through one of the newspapers.  
  
"Wait. What about Detroit?"  
  
Kae grabbed the paper from him, ignoring the indignant look he gave her as she rifled through the pages.  
  
"Temp's dropped about twenty degrees," she read, "but only in a five-block radius of downtown Motown."  
  
Dean stared at the paper intently, and nodded.  
  
"That's the one. Devil's in Detroit."  
  
"Really?" asked Bobby as Kae gave the paper back to him. "As far as foreboding goes, it's a little light in the loafers. You sure?"  
  
Dean nodded and turned to head back to the Impala.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure."  
  
\---  
  
Kae slept for about a third of the trip to Detroit. She could hear Sam and Dean talking quietly, and tried to keep still as she heard Sam (at least she assumed it was Sam as Dean had to pay attention to his driving) turn around in his seat.  
  
"Do you love her?" he asked quietly.  
  
"What?" Dean replied, clearly caught off guard. What had they been talking about while she'd slept? "Kae?"  
  
"No, Cas." Sam said sarcastically and there was the faint sound of him turning back around in his seat. "Of course Kae."  
  
Silence. Kae tried not to move, breathe...or even think as she waited for Dean to reply.  
  
"She's part demon...and all the shit she's been through, I mean...that's all I know 'bout her. Shouldn't you know a lot more about the person you wanna spend the rest of your life with? Like I don't know - besides hunting?"  
  
"Like?"  
  
"I dunno...favorite color?"  
  
"You two are fucking made for each other." Sam muttered. "You didn't answer my question."  
  
Kae risked cracking an eye open and watched the two nervously.  
  
"I...yeah."  
  
If she had been able to in that moment, Kae could've done a cartwheel. Instead she kept silent and listened intently because Sam was talking again.  
  
"This thing goes our way and I...Triple Lindy into that box...y-you know I'm not coming back."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Yeah, I'm aware." Dean responded.  
  
"So you got to promise me something."  
  
"Okay. Yeah."  
  
Kae exhaled and opened her other eye, thankful that neither Winchester could see her in the rearview mirror given that she was lying across the back seat. Neither knew she was awake and listening.  
  
"You got to promise not to try to bring me back."  
  
Dean's answer was incredulous. "What? No, I didn't sign up for that."  
  
"Dean -"  
  
"Your hell is gonna make my tour look like Graceland. You want me to just sit by and do nothing?"  
  
"Once the Cage is shut, you can't go poking at it, Dean." Sam tried to reason. "It's too risky."  
  
Kae had to agree with Sam there.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no. As if I'm just gonna let you rot in there."  
  
"Yeah you are. You don't have a choice."  
  
"You can't ask me to do this," Dean pleaded.  
  
"I'm sorry, Dean." Sam retorted. "You have to."  
  
"So then what am I supposed to do?"  
  
Sam sighed and slumped back in his seat.  
  
"Take Kae some place safe...make sure if she's pregnant, it's not mine." he rolled his eyes at whatever expression Dean gave him. "Oh come on. I saw the looks you were giving each other when you got back."  
  
"I used a condom."  
  
Sam groaned.  
  
"TMI, man. And anyway, those can break - even if you didn't notice it." He quickly picked up where he'd left off. "If she...wants it with you, you go and you - you have barbeques and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple-pie life, alright? Promise me."  
  
Dean didn't respond.  
  
\---  
  
When they finally made it to Detroit, Sam, Dean and Kae followed Bobby and Cas into a dark alley in the area where the temperature drop had occurred. Bobby scouted the area and then returned.  
  
"Demons," he informed them. "At least two dozen of them. You were right -" he told Dean, " - something's up."  
  
"More than something," Dean said tersely. "He's here, I know it." he made his way back over to the Impala's trunk and opened it.  
  
Kae watched Sam say good-bye to Bobby and then Cas before he made his way over to her.  
  
"You ready for this?" he asked.  
  
She forced a smile.  
  
"Yeah. Totally."  
  
He chuckled. "Sure. As ready as I am."  
  
"You think he'll take the deal?" she asked.  
  
Sam shrugged. "Honestly? I don't see why he wouldn't. He won't get in my body any other way. Kae?" his voice turned soft and she looked up at him.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Take care of my brother." he told her. "Please?"  
  
She smiled and hugged him.  
  
"You know I will, Sam." she replied.  
  
Dean cleared his throat and they broke apart. Sam took a deep breath and walked back over to the trunk. Seconds later, Dean walked away from it and over to Kae.  
  
"He didn't want me to watch him drink the blood." he said.  
  
Kae wanted to ask why, but decided if Dean wanted to tell her, he would when he actually wanted to. Some time later, Sam shut the trunk lid on the car and stalked past them, toward the street.  
  
"Okay let's go." he said, his tone cold.  
  
Kae looked at Dean questioningly, but he nodded silently and they hurried after Sam.


	34. Part 33

Part 33:  
  
Dean and Kae followed Sam from the alleyway, and out onto the street. Sam raised his arms, which Kae took as a gesture of surrender; it sure felt like that's what they were doing.  
  
"Alright!" Sam yelled. "We're here, you sons of bitches! Come and get it!"  
  
Three demons came out to meet them.  
  
"Hey guys," Dean greeted nonchalantly, "Is your father home?"  
  
The next thing they knew, the demons were dragging them into the building and into a room that Kae found freezing. She briefly wondered why that was, until she saw Lucifer standing by the window.  
  
"Hey guys," he said calmly. "So nice of you to drop in." He traced his finger through the fog on the window. Kae couldn't see what he'd drawn, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to know anyway. Lucifer turned to face them. "Sorry if it's a bit chilly. Most people think I burn hot. It's actually quite the opposite. Help me to understand something, guys. I mean, stomping through my front door is...a tad suicidal, don't you think?"  
  
"We're not here to fight you." Sam said.  
  
Lucifer cocked his head to the side, curious. "No? Then why are you?"  
  
Sam glanced at Kae, who nodded silently.  
  
"We want to say yes."  
  
Lucifer's eyebrows shot up at Sam's statement, and his eyes settled on Kae.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Sam's response was to inhale, and close his eyes. Behind him, Dean and Kae, the demons that had brought them in all dropped dead.  
  
Lucifer's attention returned to Sam. "Chock full of Ovaltine, are we?" he said coolly.  
  
"You heard him," Kae said flatly. "We say yes."  
  
"You're serious."  
  
"Look, Judgement Day's a runaway train. We get it now. We just want off."  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"Deal of the century," Sam answered. "I give you a free ride, but when it's all over, I live, she lives, he lives, you bring our parents back -"  
  
"You let Sam out when...we have sex." Kae added and Dean looked pointedly at the floor. "You don't touch Dean. Ever."  
  
"Okay, can we please drop the telenovela?" Lucifer said exasperatedly. "I know you have the rings."  
  
It was Sam's turn to be surprised, and Kae looked nervously at Dean, who was now keeping his eyes trained on Lucifer.  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sam tried to be convincing but it was too late. Lucifer knew and they were screwed.  
  
"The Horsemen's rings? The magic keys to my Cage? Ring a bell?" Lucifer scoffed. "Come on, Sam. I've never lied to you. You could at least pay me the same respect." he sighed. "It's okay. I'm not mad. he looked at Kae in what she took as mock pity. "Sorry kiddo. For it to work, I gotta be there. No hard feelings." he chuckled. "A wrestling match inside your noggin, Sam..." he looked thoughtful. "I like the idea. Just you and me, one round, no tricks. You win, you jump in the hole. I win...Well then I win. What do you say, Sam? A fiddle of gold against your soul says I'm better than you."  
  
Sam looked uncertainly at Kae and Dean and his expression became determined. He nodded silently at Kae and she swallowed the lump in her throat before nodding back at him.  
  
"So he knows," Sam said to Dean. "Doesn't change anything."  
  
"Sam -" Dean tried.  
  
"We don't have any other choice." Kae said quietly.  
  
Dean shook his head. "No."  
  
Sam and Kae both looked at Lucifer.  
  
"Yes." they said simultaneously.  
  
Bright light began to fill the room, so bright that Kae couldn't see anything. A strange sensation began to fill her body and she cried out, feeling like something was pulling on her, and pulling hard.  
  
"No." she gasped, realizing what Lucifer was doing. "No! No!"  
  
Dean didn't hear her, or see what was happening. He was too busy shielding his face from the light.  
  
Kae's knees buckled and she fell to the floor - no, not to the floor - _through it_.  
  
Son of a bitch!  
  
"Dean!" she screamed, hoping he would hear her, but he didn't.  
  
Before she could do anything, she felt herself slam down onto a wooden floor. Pain flared all over her body, but it didn't seem like anything was broken. Of course not - he wouldn't want her harmed after all.  
  
She waited until she'd regained control of her breathing to roll onto her side and sit up. She was on the ground floor of what appeared to be another building, possibly an old house. A group of people stood motionless in a circle a few feet away from her: men of varying age and a woman - in a prom dress?  
  
What the hell was this? Kae groaned softly and got to her feet. By the time she turned around, she had to stop herself from crying out: Lucifer had walked into the room. Seeing him using Sam's body was horrifying.  
  
He grinned at seeing her discomfort and reached for a lock of her hair twirling it in his fingers as if he were admiring the multicolored strands. The grin turned into a smirk as Kae flinched away, making him laugh.  
  
"Honey," he quipped. "I'm home."  
  
\---  
  
Dean was on the brink of a meltdown as he rejoined Cas and Bobby on the street. Lucifer was in Sam's body and Kae - where had he taken her? It wasn't like Dean was going to stop what they - what they were doing (God the thought made him sick) because it had been Kae's choice, but...  
  
Cas.  
  
He would know where to find her...wouldn't he?  
  
"Where are they?" he asked as they met near a store that had a bunch of televisions in its display window. "Where'd he take her, Cas?"  
  
Cas frowned.  
  
"Do you really think I know?" he asked. "Dean, even if I did, would you stop them? Kae made her choice. So did Sam." he paused. "Deep down, they both knew this would happen."  
  
"No." Now Dean really did feel like he was going to be sick. There had to be a way to fix this! He headed for the Impala with Bobby and Cas on his heels. "I gotta - I gotta go."  
  
"You're gonna do something stupid." Bobby rolled his eyes. "You got that look."  
  
Dean fished his keys out of his pocket. "I'm gonna go talk to Sam."  
  
Bobby sighed exasperatedly.  
  
"You just don't give up."  
  
"It's Sam!" snapped Dean.  
  
Cas shook his head. "If you couldn't reach him here, you're certainly not going to be able to on the battlefield."  
  
Dean shrugged, opened the car door, and got inside.  
  
"Well if we've already lost, I guess I got nothing to lose, right?"  
  
"I just want you to understand," Cas explained sadly, " - the only thing that you're gonna see out there is Michael killing your brother."  
  
Dean stared at him for a moment, his eyes glassy.  
  
"Well then I ain't gonna let him die alone." he replied, his voice cracking.  
  
He started the engine and then drove off.  
  
\---  
  
Kae had never seen so much blood before. Sure the carnage left over from when Layla and Aiden had been killed had been bad, but this was - she didn't have the words.  
  
She'd just seen Lucifer use Sam to kill people from Sam's past, but not before letting Sam out long enough for a conversation, the contents of which she wanted to know nothing about.  
  
Kae felt horrible that Sam had to go through this - it had definitely not panned out the way they'd expected.  
  
The sound of footsteps approaching caused her to look away from the bodies and at the only other person in the room with her: Lucifer. He smiled at her and held out his hand.  
  
"What do you say we take this somewhere less bloody?" he said.  
  
Kae stared silently at his outstretched hand, lower lip trembling. How could she possibly go through with this?  
  
The Cage.  
  
Shove Lucifer in the fucking Cage.  
  
Kae nodded and took his hand.  
  
"Okay."  
  
His smile widened and before Kae could do anything, they vanished.  
  
\---  
  
Lucifer and Kae reappeared in a large room that looked like it could have been a large suite in a five star hotel. Maybe it was. Kae didn't really care.  
  
"What do you think?" Lucifer asked her eagerly, clearly trying to impress her.  
  
She looked around the room, her eyes wide. The room's walls were covered in yellow wallpaper emblazoned with stars all over them. The bed was a king size, and covered in white blankets and sheets already pulled back. Two large pillows lay against the wooden headboard.  
  
"It's nice." she said, and smiled at him. What else could she do? "Really nice."  
  
He nodded, pleased by her response. "Bathroom's through there." he pointed at a room to the left. "I'll give you some time to yourself."  
  
She nodded and headed toward it.  
  
"Okay."  
  
\---  
  
Kae stared at herself in the large mirror that hung over the bathroom sink. In her hands she held a fluffy white bathrobe (who the hell did Lucifer think he was kidding?). She wasn't sure she could do this anymore.  
  
"Kae? Everything alright?" she heard Lucifer call after some time had passed.  
  
She gulped and undressed.  
  
"Yeah." she whispered, then cleared her throat and spoke in a normal voice. "Yeah." She took a deep breath and put the robe on. "Be out in a minute."  
  
It actually took her another five minutes before she steeled herself to actually leave the bathroom. Lucifer was waiting for her on the bed, a towel wrapped around his waist ( _This is too fucking stupid...too cheesy...why..._ she thought, but forced herself not to say anything).  
  
Lucifer grinned at her.  
  
"You look great."  
  
 _I'm wearing a fucking robe, you jackass._ she thought bitterly, but smiled anyway. "Thank you."  
  
His grin softened and he heaved himself up off of the mattress before walking over to her. Kae watched him apprehensively until he bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. She let out a soft moan and heard him chuckle as his hands settled on the belt of the robe. She managed to nod, and he untied it.  
  
"It's okay, Kaelyn." he murmured. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax, and let me take care of you." he kissed her again, and guided her over to the bed before pushing her down onto it. "Okay?" she nodded.  
  
"Okay."  
  
\---  
  
The next day, Kae woke up to find Lucifer already awake (did angels sleep? did fallen angels sleep?) and watching her. He didn't look happy.  
  
"What is it?" she asked cautiously as she got off of the bed, taking the sheets with her and wrapping them around her body as she moved.  
  
"You had sex with Dean." he said flatly. "That's the problem."  
  
She stared at him incredulously. Better to try and convince him of a lie than to tell him the truth.  
  
"I didn't." she said.  
  
"Don't lie to me, Princess," he warned, tone deadly. "I sensed him."  
  
"He used a condom." She clapped a hand over her mouth as soon as she'd said, it, cursing silently at the slip.  
  
"It broke." he said flatly.  
  
"Liar." she snarled.  
  
"Don't," he rounded the bed and struck her across her face, sending her tumbling down onto the bed. "call me a liar." she tried but failed to stop him as he tore the sheets aside and placed his hand over her belly. "A little change in schedule won't hurt anything. Being five years ahead actually makes things much easier."  
  
"What are you t-talking about?" Kae asked fearfully.  
  
Lucifer smiled cruelly at her.  
  
"The moment you kill Dean Winchester."


	35. Part 34

Part 34:  
  
Kae perched herself on the top of an old headstone and looked around the graveyard that was Stull Cemetery. Lucifer stood a few feet away from her, waiting for Michael to meet him. He hadn't said why it had to be Stull, and she hadn't asked.  
  
It didn't take long for Michael to show up.  
  
"It's good to see you, Michael," said Lucifer.  
  
"You too," Michael replied. "It's been too long."  
  
Kae tuned them out after that, knowing that this wasn't going to be some happy family reunion. The two were going to fucking kill each other for crying out loud!  
  
The sound of music caught her attention and dread began to fill her as she saw the Impala drive through the cemetery gates, Def Leopard's Rock of Ages blaring loudly out the rolled down windows.  
  
When it parked and the engine cut, she saw Dean get out of the car and lean against the open door.  
  
"Howdy boys," he greeted the two, "am I interrupting something?"  
  
\----  
  
Kae held her breath as she watched Dean approach Lucifer. She wanted to scream at him to get back in the Impala, drive away and never look back, but even if she did, she knew he wouldn't leave.  
  
"Hey." Dean said to Lucifer. "We need to talk."  
  
Lucifer sighed.  
  
"Dean." he said exasperatedly. "Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."  
  
 _Stupid. Yes._ Kae thought, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. _Get out of here, you idiot. It's not Sam anymore. Please._  
  
"I'm not talking to you." Dean said flatly. "I'm talking to Sam."  
  
"You're no longer the vessel, Dean," said Michael abruptly, before Lucifer could respond. "You got no right to be here."  
  
Dean considered him for a moment, and then spoke.  
  
"Adam, if you're in there somewhere I am so sorry." he said.  
  
"Adam isn't home right now," Michael snapped.  
  
Dean shrugged.  
  
"Well, then you're next on my list, buttercup," he responded, "but right now I need five minutes with him." he gestured to Lucifer.  
  
"You little maggot." snarled Michael, taking a step toward Dean. "You are no longer a part of the story!"  
  
"Hey, ass-butt!"  
  
Kae nearly choked as she tried to stifle her laughter at Cas's interruption of the conversation taking place with Dean, Michael and Lucifer. Cas threw what she deemed correctly to be a molotov cocktail at the archangel and Michael began to scream as he burst into flames and disappeared.  
  
"Ass-butt?" Dean said incredulously.  
  
Cas shrugged.  
  
"He'll be back - and upset - but you got your five minutes." he told Dean.  
  
Lucifer was staring at Cas.  
"Castiel," he said, the tone of his voice deadly. "Did you just molotov my brother with holy fire?"  
  
Cas looked at Lucifer nervously and shook his head.  
  
"Uh...no."  
  
"Nobody dicks with Michael but me." Lucifer said angrily, and with a snap of his fingers, Cas exploded in a big bloody mess.  
  
"Sammy," Dean said hesitantly, looking away from where Cas had stood mere seconds ago and back at Lucifer, "can you hear me?"  
  
Kae inhaled sharply as she watched Lucifer turn to Dean.  
  
"You know, I tried to be nice," he said evenly, "for Sammy's sake," he grabbed Dean by the lapels of his jacket, "but you...are such a pain...in my ass." he pushed Dean down onto the ground, hard before rounding on Kae. "You know what to do."  
  
Kae stared at Lucifer, horrified. She didn't move.  
  
"Kill him." Lucifer ordered.  
  
Before she could do anything, a gun shot shattered the brief silence that fell between them. Kae saw Bobby pointing the Colt at Lucifer. As Lucifer turned, she could see a bullet wound in his back. Bobby fired the gun at Lucifer again, this time hitting him in the chest.  
  
Lucifer regarded him for a moment before twisting his hand in mid-air, snapping Bobby's neck.  
  
"No!" Kae screamed, and she wasn't the only one. Dean had cried out too as he watched what Lucifer had done.  
  
Lucifer looked at Kae.  
  
"Yes." he snarled. He stalked over to her, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her over to where Dean lay. "Now finish this. I'm not asking you. I'm _ordering_ you."  
  
\---  
  
Kae stared down at Dean and tears began to fill her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said thickly.  
  
He nodded. "I know."  
  
Kae took a deep breath and closed her eyes before concentrating and making a long sweeping motion with her arm. When she opened her eyes, she saw Dean's body slamming into a headstone fifteen feet from where she stood. He barely had time to recover before she blasted him ten feet up in the air and sent him flying into the gates at Stull's entrance.  
  
She blasted him into the Impala, which sent him crashing through the windshield, and waited to see if he would get up. When he didn't, she began to cry.  
  
Lucifer burst into laughter as Kae fell to her knees sobbing uncontrollably. Dean was gone, and it was all her fault. How could she...wait. Dean was struggling out of the wreckage of the busted windshield. Lucifer's face darkened and he pulled Kae up onto her feet before striking her hard across the face.  
  
"I guess if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," he snarled before making his way over to Dean.  
  
Kae's eyes widened as she watched Lucifer swiftly pull Dean through the broken windshield.  
  
"No!" she screamed.  
  
Lucifer smiled cruelly at her before punching Dean in the face. He stepped back and allowed Dean to get off of the car's hood.  
  
"Sammy?" Dean choked out, blood dribbling down his chin. "Are you in there?"  
  
"Oh he's in here alright," Lucifer said coldly, "and he's gonna feel the snap of your bones." He punched Dean in the face again. "Every last one." he glanced at Kae briefly before resuming his attack on Dean. "Keep watching, Princess. I know it hurts, but that's okay. You'll see him again when you die, but as of this moment? You're my bitch - _permanently_."  
  
He drove his fist into Dean's face until it was a bloody mess. Kae felt her rage at the fallen angel grow with every hit, and her heart ached for Dean. Sure she knew that he probably had made peace with the fact that it was Lucifer, not Sam, but still. That didn't make what was happening any worse.  
  
Kae wanted to blast Lucifer into the deepest pit of Hell possible, but she knew she couldn't; it wouldn't work. She watched Lucifer raise his fist for what she knew would be the death blow, but then he froze.  
  
It seemed like ages passed before he moved again, and stumbled backward, away from Dean.  
  
It was Sam.  
  
\---  
  
Kae stared at Sam in shock. He reached into his pocket for the rings and then threw them down onto the grass. When her shock wore off, she ran over to Dean and helped him off of the Impala. The two collapsed onto the ground in front of the car, Kae clinging to Dean as the two watched Sam speak the incantation that made the keys work. It caused a large circle of the ground to cave in, leaving a gaping black hole, through which a torrent of wind began to flow.  
  
Sam turned to Kae and Dean and nodded briefly. All Dean could do was stare at his brother, and Kae managed a weak nod.  
  
"Sam!"  
  
Michael had returned. He took no notice of Kae or Dean.  
  
"It's not gonna end this way!" he yelled over the roar of the wind. "Step back!"  
  
"You're gonna have to make me!" Sam yelled back.  
  
"I have to fight my brother, Sam! Here and now! It's my destiny!"  
  
Sam glanced at Dean and Kae one more time before closing his eyes and spreading his arms out. As he began to fall backward into the Cage, Michael lunged forward and grabbed onto his arm. Sam grabbed him and pulled, causing both him and Michael to fall into the pit.  
  
In a flash, the ground was back to looking like it had never been disturbed in the first place. The rings lay in the grass, glowing bright gold. Dean managed to get up on his knees and crawled over to them, before picking them up and staring silently down at them.  
  
Kae hesitated, but then joined him, wrapping her arms gently around his shoulders. He didn't cry, but she saw a single tear make its way down his cheek. They sat there in silence for who knew how long.  
  
There was a sudden flutter of wings, and when the two looked up, they saw Cas standing next to Dean. The angel didn't speak but placed two fingers on the hunter's forehead. When he removed them, Dean had been completely healed.  
  
"Cas?" Kae asked in disbelief. "You're alive?"  
  
He looked over at her.  
  
"I'm better than that," he replied as he stepped over to her and helped her to her feet. Then he crossed the distance between them and Bobby's body before kneeling down next to it and touched Bobby's neck. Kae watched in awe as Bobby sat up and stared at Cas. He looked as stunned as she felt.  
  
"Cas are you God?" she asked.  
  
He smiled slightly at her.  
  
"That's a nice compliment...but no." he replied. "Although, I do believe he brought me back. New and improved."  
  
Kae nodded and looked back at Dean. He was still staring down at the rings in his hand.  
  
\---  
  
Later that night, after saying good-bye to Bobby, and a conversation with Cas that ended up with Dean yelling and the angel leaving them, Dean drove them out to a motel n Kansas City. The two got into bed without a word to each other.  
  
Kae slept until at least noon the next day and woke to find Dean gone, a note left on the small table in the room.  
  
 _On a food run - back soon_  
 _Dean_  
  
She decided that instead of sitting around and waiting for him to come back, she would go ahead and shower. The hot water felt wonderful on her body, and helped her relax. She was almost able to forget what had happened the day before.  
  
Almost.  
  
As she was stepping out of the shower, she heard the door of their room open and close. Dean was back.  
  
"Be out in a second!" she called, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around herself after she'd rung the excess water from her hair. Once she'd dried off, she got dressed, throwing on a plain purple v-neck t-shirt over her head and pulling a pair of dark wash jeans on.  
  
"Hey," she said, pushing the door of the bathroom open. Dean was seated at the small table, staring at it blankly. He didn't say a word. "Dean -"  
  
"He's...It worked." Dean said tonelessly. "It worked, and he's gone. Sam's gone."  
  
"I know." she said softly as she sat down. "Dean, I -"  
  
"Don't," Dean's voice cracked. "Just...don't."  
  
"Then don't you shut me out," she retorted. "Dean, we need to figure out what to do next."  
  
"Well I'm not ready for next."  
  
"Neither am I," she told him, "But...it's 'next'. Whether we like it or not. So, what do we do?"  
  
"What do you want to do?" he asked, finally looking up at her.  
  
Kae hesitated, recalling the conversation she'd overheard on the trip to Detroit.  
  
 _"If she...wants it with you, you go and you - you have barbecues, and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple-pie life. Promise me."_  
  
"I kind of like the idea of taking a break from angels and demons and....all that," she said slowly, "a long term break."  
  
He nodded after a while.  
  
"Me too." he reached for her hand and held it.  
  
"You think we could try that?" she asked. "Together?"  
  
Dean sighed.  
  
"Don't see why not," he attempted to smile. "Could be interesting."  
  
She laughed weakly and squeezed his hands.  
  
"Yeah. Could be." she agreed. "Definitely."  
  
-fin-.


End file.
